I went to look up what the 5th wedding anniversary theme is -- you know how the 25th is "silver" and the 50th is "gold" -- and I have to say, I was a bit disappointed to learn that the 5th anniversary is WOOD. Like, are they serious? How is that romantic?
Then I looked at some of the other traditional gift themes for the "early years" of marriage:
- Paper
- Cotton
- Leather (kinky!)
- Fruit or flowers
- WOOD
- Candy or Iron (How are these related?)
- Wool or Copper
- Bronze or Pottery
- Pottery and Willow (Like a tree?)
- Tin or Aluminum
I have to say, where's the romance in having something made of tin or aluminum after 10 years of marriage? "Honey, you know what'd I'd really LOVE for our 10th? Something I can recycle!"
Fortunately, modern times call for more modern thinking, and there are better alternatives nowadays:
- Clocks (good)
- China (better)
- Crystal (now we're getting someplace!)
- Appliances (Uh... ok, but no "housewife" stuff, though!)
- Silverware (score!)
- Wood (wait a sec... how did WOOD make it back onto this list?)
- Desk sets (are you kidding with that? Who gives a crap about a desk set anymore?)
- Linens or lace (meh)
- Leather (now you have to be married 9 years to get kinky?)
- Diamond Jewelry (JACKPOT)
Today is our FIFTH wedding anniversary, apparently the wood/silverware anniversary. Gee, that just rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it? But you know what? It doesn't matter because Georges and I have never played by the Rules, not from the very first moment we made contact, and we could care less about what some etiquette person decides is the appropriate gift to give your spouse on an anniversary (well, those diamonds sounded kind of interesting but that's another 5 years away).
In fact, we decided NO gifts this year. Instead, we're doing what we did last year: going out together to a nice restaurant we both really like, in our own quartier. Nothing fancy, just being together and remembering our special day and how wonderful it was.... and how great it is to be married to each other. THAT'S the real gift: the Love, and the life we share together.
Best five years ever... and so many more best years ahead of us.
My Georges, Thank you for giving me a reason to smile, every single day since we met. And thank you for the gift of your unconditional love, and for what you and the kids bring to my life.
I need no other gift but you. Je t'aime.