Anniversary Adventure

So many of my family and friends are blessed, celebrating their 15th, 20th, 25th, 30th wedding anniversaries. I attended one of my best friend's parent's 50th wedding anniversary not too long ago and it was an honor sharing that day with them. I work for lawyers, I type a lot of documents about divorce cases, kids caught in the middle of them, it's sad. When I was a growing up, I hardly knew anyone who was divorced, it was a strange thing to me. But even if there are more divorces today, there are still so many good marriages, and again I'm so happy for those I know who celebrate all these years together as well as all the strangers who do as well. Happy Anniversary!



About 20 years ago my aunt and uncle were celebrating a big Wedding Anniversary and we all wanted to do something very special for them. My aunt is my aunt of course but she's like a big sister, a mom, and a friend. She lived with us until I was about 5 and we even shared a room for many years (though she locked me out of it for getting into all her stuff!)

I got an idea from one of the guys I worked with. His daughter had turned 16 and he gave her 16 hand made gift certificates. One would be a day of not having to help around the house, or an envelope filled with money for a movie, a manicure, all different things. I changed it a bit and it made for a great anniversary for my aunt and uncle and they enjoyed the entire day.

Prior to the day of their anniversary they were told to make no plans but be ready and dressed casually to go out first thing in the morning because plans were being made for them.

I made up a bunch of notes, some were instructions and some were little reminders of the first time they did all sorts of things in their 25 years of marriage. When they woke up and went downstairs to make their morning coffee they found money with a note that said go have "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (a local diner in their neighborhood at the time) and each of the instructional notes had another "memory note", which they couldn't open until they were at whatever destination we sent them to and those notes said "remember this first time or that first time", like at their breakfast it said "remember the first time you had breakfast together, remember how you felt that first time" and also telling them where to find the next note.

Then we had them drive out to Staten Island where my sister lived and she had a bunch more notes and instructions to give them or hide in their car. We gave them the toll money for the Verrazano Bridge, and that memory note asked them to remember the first time driving over Verrazano Bridge, how much was the toll, where did you go, what car did you have then.

When they got to my sister's house she gave them another note, and put more in their car, on the steering wheel, in the glove compartment. One note said "here are tickets for the movies, you can pick whichever one you want to see, just give us a call and let us know the time your movie will end, also enclosing money to pay for their snacks and asking note asking them what was their first movie together and how much that cost, did they both like it, what candy did they buy then, do they still have that candy in the movies, what movie theatre did they go to, etc., also asking that once the movie did end to look for one more note in the glove compartment of the car. That last note said go home and get a little more dressed up for an evening of more fun.

When they got home our family and their friends were all waiting on their front lawn with balloons and signs instead of hiding inside the house and yelling surprise. They weren't expecting a party as they thought the day they had had was their anniversary gift and maybe dinner out or with the family would be the ending.

It was a great party and both my aunt and uncle enjoyed their adventure, following their instructions and reading the notes, walking down memory lane. It was a day all about them, pushed to remember the small things that happened in their lives together, the day to day stuff that you take for granted, but nice to think about all the same.