Roy (my husband) is not a planner like I am, and yet he pulled off a spectacular planned out day last week (to the day actually) for our three-year wedding anniversary. He had the day off because he worked that weekend and he wanted that day for his plans and surprises for me (my surprises including meals and activities is the next weekday he has off, alas both of your activities required weekdays) and while Roy is sweet and thoughtful and romantic – I was seriously surprised, and impressed!
The day started out with a back rub, which I would usually enjoy, but it has been so long since I’ve had one, it was mostly just painful. Of course, I felt better a few hours later, so the pain was worth it, but I’m hoping not to go so long without next time (I seriously carry all of my tension in my shoulders – it’s a thing). Then it was off to lunch at this taco shop I love. It isn’t really fast food, but a healthier spin on tacos – I love it. They have these special shrimp, bacon and avocado tacos with Feta cheese and a sriracha type sauce. It tastes better than it sounds, and it sounds pretty fricking good.
After lunch we were off to the next surprise: a museum exhibit that I have wanted to see for the last three months. It was awesome, and I’m going back in the next week or so to finish it. Roy got IMAX tickets so I couldn’t finish the exhibit – I read and process slowly, so that I can retain it. After that we headed to Boulder, which just proves how much my husband loves me, since he hisses as soon as he crosses the county line (he’s really not a fan haha). We were too late to do some mystery quickie activity, so we’re going to do that sometime – I have no idea what it is. So then we went to a chocolate shop unlike anything I have ever visited. I mean they had over one hundred gourmet chocolates and I fell in love. Why can’t I have hundreds of dollars to blow on chocolate – I mean I want to try at least one of everything and then get my favorites, which will probably be at least twenty-some pieces? (Obviously, not all at one time – my stomach would revolt. And the average chocolate was $4 a piece so I’m not exaggerating in terms of stating “hundreds of dollars.”)
Then it was time to go to dinner and Roy took me to a seafood restaurant I have wanted to try for three years. Roy and I are different in every way, down to the foods we like. He can’t stand any kind of seafood (shellfish, fish – any of it). I’m not sure what I imagined or expected in terms of the food, but whatever my expectations were – this place just blew them away. I mean I can’t remember the last time I was so wowed by anything – it’s had to have been at least a year. The appetizer I got was raw fish, fish eggs and jalapeños, which I know sounds weird, but it really wasn’t. It was sweet (the fish eggs and fish) but with serious bite, and I love sweet and spicy things. My main course (Halibut) was amazingly flavorful. Even though I am all about seafood – that usually means shellfish, but this meal proved that regular fish can be just as tasty if done right. Then we got this S’mores Torte that was to die for and a dessert Chardonnay to wash it down.
After dinner we decided to go for coffee at a Boulder place Roy loves and on the way we stumbled upon a used bookstore. I live in libraries, book stores – it’s the writer/reader in me. I have a serious book hoarding problem (just see what happens when I travel!) so we checked it out. I only walked out of there with two books (seriously, I think I should get some sort of credit for this), but it’s not about the quantity… Roy found a book that is going to be super helpful for the novel I am developing. It is like the ultimate treasury for research for this story, and usually I would have to hunt down thirty different resources, whereas this book has them all! (It is an encyclopedia, but it is a cool encyclopedia – really!) I also got a coming of age novel by someone I have never heard of that investigates class, race and gender – so again – LOVE!
We eventually did make it to the coffee place, and got some coffee before heading home. Roy gave me his card while I gave him half of his present (the other half is lost somewhere in Europe – no I’m not kidding, but that’s okay, I still wasn’t empty handed, and it will turn up or I’ll just reorder). I’m not going to get into what I got him because… well I’ll save that for another post. This post is about all of the wonderful things my husband did for me on our anniversary.
We’ve both said it – it feels a lot longer than three years. I won’t speak for Roy, but for me it’s hard to imagine my life before he came into it. I remember it, but it seems like the life of someone else… distant and forgotten. Maybe it’s because he really is my other half, and before that time, I was never really whole. All right, I’m starting to get incredibly sappy, so I’ll leave it at that. I have a lot in store for my husband, and I have encouraged him to be afraid… when I am able to blitz attack him with my anniversary surprises and adventures, I’ll post about it. But with his work schedule, it will probably be a couple of weeks.
Oh well, my husband is a patient man… seriously, what little patience I have I got from him. 😛
-DMW