happy anniversary

Fifteen years ago today, the sun was shining, it was boiling hot… and it was my wedding day. I just remember smiling and smiling so much that my face hurt.

Twenty-two years ago (give or take a couple of days), it was our first date. DH tried to impress me with his designer T-shirt – but I’m not and never have been trendy, so I was completely oblivious. The arrangement was that we’d meet outside the post office. No way was I going to stand there like a lemon, in case he didn’t turn up, so I stood outside the record shop next door, pretending to read the top 40 chart list.

I didn’t know anyone who had a car, at that point (all my friends were poor students, like me). So I really wasn’t expecting him to turn up in a car; he ended up circling the one-way system three times before he spotted me. He had this bronze-coloured Cortina (very similar to the one Gene Hunt drives in Life on Mars… another reason why I have a soft spot for that programme) and it just ATE petrol – but he had this wonderful stereo system. And no tapes visible. I asked about his musical tastes. ‘No, no, you won’t like the stuff I do.’ Eventually he caved in and told me his tape box was in the glove compartment and I could have a look if I wanted to. ‘Hmm. Got that one, that one, that one – ooh, can I borrow this? I’ll lend you Stormbringer, seeing as you haven’t got it.’ He was gobsmacked that I shared his taste (mine’s probably wider, but we have a decent crossover). He was even more shocked when I bought a round in the pub. (‘Girls don’t buy rounds.’ They do if they’re students.) And although everyone thought we were complete opposites, it just worked. We knew within a fortnight we were going to get married. (We took so long to actually do it because I needed to finish uni first, then buy a house while we could still afford one, then move to a house with a garden and get a dog, and... then we ran out of excuses.) And here we are, over half a lifetime later. Still married. Still happy. Still a team. (This takes work. And learning to compromise. But it’s worth it.)

So what are we doing on our anniversary? Well, I have a deadline. The deal was, no work on holiday and I’d do it when we got back. Except my brain is a bit sluggish and I'm not doing very well. So I’m going to do some negotiation; and it's sunny and I want to spend time with my family. But dinner out tonight is a definite!