Even Steven and I celebrated our 11-year wedding anniversary last summer. And by celebrated, I mean that he offered to help me get my compression hose on before he left for work.
Now I'm not going to tell you that the spark is gone from our marriage.
It's not.
But things are far different than they were on our 1-year-wedding anniversary.
On our 1-year wedding anniversary, we spent the weekend at a gorgeous bed and breakfast. We gazed into each other's eyes and talked about our dreams for the future. We laughed about how we made it through the first year of marriage that everyone said would be so hard. We gave each other thoughtful gifts that we could cherish forever. Then we gazed into each other's eyes a little more.
10 years later, and life is a bit different.
We now have a house in the suburbs, three little kids, a big hairy dog and let's not forget about that minivan...
And the last time we gazed into each other's eyes was when I mistakenly used the internet to diagnose myself with glaucoma and was trying to get him to confirm my diagnosis.
We care less about gifts and more about having clean underwear and kids that let us sleep all night long.
So when our 11th wedding anniversary rolled around, we both forgot a little bit.
Well, more than a little bit.
We just flat out forgot.
In fact, Even Steven had to check the date on his wedding band.
And even then he wished me a Happy 12th Anniversary - which I guess means he doesn't have to remember this year at all. (And he's not so great at math.)
10 Signs That You've Been Married for More than 10 Years
1. Facebook has to remind you that it's your anniversary.
2. Who needs jewelry or a vacation? All you really want is someone to do the laundry and clean the toilets.
3. Your intimate anniversary dinner has morphed into taking the kids to an all-you-can eat pizza place. The louder the better.
4. You spent your anniversary gift budget on tree trimming (or braces).
5. You dreamed of an anniversary vacation together in a tropical location with a swim up bar. Instead, you're taking your kids to the community pool.
6. You wish you hadn't lost so much weight before your wedding - because then maybe you'd have a chance at still fitting into your wedding dress.
7. When you look at your wedding pictures, you can't remember the names of all of your bridesmaids and groomsmen. (My apologies to the brunette standing next to my sister-in-law. You look lovely in the pictures, though, so thanks for that!)
8. Your dream anniversary night is your husband taking the kids out to eat while you have the entire house all to yourself. Seriously - can you imagine this? I'm drooling a little just thinking about it.
9. You go to watch your wedding video - only to remember that you used it to record Seinfeld's last season. And you're pretty much okay with that. (It was a good last season, amiright?)
10. You can barely recognize your life now compared to the lives on your wedding day. (Where did all these little people come from? Why are our feet so hairy? A minivan? Really?) But you wouldn't change it for the world.
Glenda says
This post is so true! We just celebrated our 30th anniversary last month. Now it's just the two of us again (plus the dog) and we're watching our daughters build their own lives.
Kristina Hammer says
My hubby & I just celebrated 7yrs on Sunday...we spent the day taking the boys to GameStop, the girls to get haircuts, & finall McGee it out for an hour long dinner without them at a local Pizzeria Pub only to be sat down next to a family party of 15 with more kids than adults! Did we ask to move since it was 'our alone night' out? Nope. Just sat there comparing our families level of insanity to theirs happily! Sometimes, you don't even make it to 10+yrs before your parodies become true!
Marsha says
married 9 years. 2 step kids and 3 bio kids. Most of these are true 🙂
Jillian @ Hi! It's Jilly says
Lol! SO true! We've been married almost 12 and you nailed it! Wait...12? Hmm. 2014-2002...yes. See! I can't even remember how long it's been! 😉
Mary says
We'll be married 25 years in August. We still have a nine year old. However' we also have a 22 yo and a 19 yo. It gets better, we might actually get out for dinner together w/o kids.
Lisa R. Petty says
You wear compression hose?? Did you have a DVT? I only ask because I had one and I am SUPPOSED to wear them, but I don't.
Oh, and I've been married almost 9 years, but it's a second marriage so it's a little different. Our son, one and only child from my first marriage, is 17. He would let us sleep for days if we wanted. 🙂
Amanda says
We are celebrating our 5-year anniversary in May and every anniversary thus far I have either been pregnant or nursing a baby, and this one will be no different as I will be 30-weeks along with our final child. So your list pretty much applied the first year. I do hope we can reverse this mess. Not the kids; just the absent-minded parts.
Sharon says
Today is 14 years for me and Steve.
Holly says
Love this. Although we are jetting off to an all-inclusive in Mexico for our 10th anniversary later this Spring. How we celebrate, or if we even remember the 11th, is anyone's guess!
Ashlee says
#7 cracks me up! hahaha
Happy Anniversary to you two!
Pam @ ANewOrganizedMe says
Anna all of this is so true.
Zarathustra says
11. Thoughts of suicide and its release from the burden of existence consume every minute of your life.
Tatha says
Am I greedy if I say that I dream of Husband taking the kids to the in laws for the weekend? A whole weekend to myself?
Kari says
My husband and and I will be married 20 years this year. We thought we'd be responsible and hold off having kids, so now we have a 13 year old, an 11 year old, and our tag along 6 year old. So our evenings are filled with sports practices, activities, and homework, and our weekends are filled with games, other activities, and more homework. My husband and I are now the same age my parents were when they empty nested.
I'd better get to the gym. I can't afford to act my age:-)
Foxy Wine Pocket says
This list is hilarious. I was feeling bad the other day about not talking to one of my bridemaids anymore (it's been 17 years since the wedding), so #7 made me feel a bit better. 🙂 Thanks to my mom babysitting, we had a loving dinner for our last anniversary--and then we went to sleep early.
Bliss says
This is a really cute post. I think the major thing is that after 10 years you are comfortable enough discuss and to just admit that clean underwear really were important all along.
Michelle says
This is awesome! #2 and #4 made me laugh out loud cuz they REALLY summed up my marriage! Thanks!
Kathy at kissing the frog says
Number 6. . . Umm, yeah. Will never ever be fitting into that thing again. Ever.