Happy 27th Anniversary

I know--27 isn't a milestone year, one that ends in 0 like 10 or 20, but ever since we reached our 25th anniversary it seems like we should celebrate every anniversary like it was a milestone.

Two years ago we celebrated our 25th in a big way. On our actual anniversary date Dwight had two dozen roses delivered to me at my office. He also ordered a beautiful chocolate cake from Edgar's decorated with "Happy 25th Anniversary" in yellow icing, since he knows I have a huge sweet tooth and love chocolate (he does too). We invited a group of our closest buddies to meet us for drinks at Dwight's favorite watering hole, Pablo's, only to discover they were closed for renovations that night. Quick change of venue to Yankee Pizzeria and the celebration continued.

Then two weeks later we gave each other our real anniversary present--a trip to Las Vegas. As hard as it may be to believe, neither of us had ever been to there, so we walked around like the rest of the tourists, gawking at the spectacle that is Vegas. We knew we were in a whole 'nother world when we stepped off the plane at the Vegas airport and saw a terminal full of slot machines. And in the elevator in our hotel, The Tropicana, I pushed "M" for "Main Floor" and got the Mezzanine. No "G" for "Ground Floor"? Finally someone told us "C" for "Casino" would get us to the main floor. Nope, Toto, we weren't in Kansas anymore.

A trip to Las Vegas is a little like a trip around the world. New York New York Casino was across the street, complete with a Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, and a huge roller coaster swooping in and out of the building; the MGM Grand was next door, with their huge golden lion at the entrance. We rode to the top of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Casino, oohed and aahed over the Grecian statues in Caesar's Palace, and spent one evening at Fremont Street, the original Vegas, where we saw a 61-pound lump of gold, the largest nugget ever found, at The Golden Nugget.We ate, drank (a lot), played slots, saw shows, watched the ever-changing fountains at The Bellagio, and generally had a great time. Where else can you have your picture made with a beautiful Vegas showgirl on one street corner and then pose with Iron Man, Elvis, Elmo or Barney the dinosaur on the same block?  There is a metaphor for the marriage experience in there somewhere, I just know it.

Last year and this year, our anniversary went back to normal: anniversary cards and a nice dinner out. But it's important to celebrate the fact that we have made it through another year. We have been together through numerous jobs, three different houses, several different vehicles and umpteen lost/broken/upgraded cell phones; we have fought and made up, and raised two beautiful daughters; we are still relatively healthy, relatively sane, and we still love each other.

Twenty-five-plus years and counting. Not too bad.