Lessons Learned from Celebrating the 20th

After 20 years of marriage I can say this: it's been educational. So it was appropriate that celebrating this milestone would leave me with lessons learned.

Lesson 1: The Blueberry Picking at Homestead Farm is top notch

Over the years we've picked a variety of fruit at a variety of farms and the results have been mixed. The blueberry picking at Homestead Farm, however, was off the charts good this year. Everywhere we turned, there were plump perfect berries just waiting to be picked. As a bonus, the berries have stayed fresh in our fridge for the last couple of days.

Mmmm...blueberries on everything...yum.

Lesson 2: I'm Not Really a Pedicure Guy

When Shira suggested we celebrate our 20th anniversary with a couples' pedicure, I have to admit that my inner 10 year old boy protested. Eewww, pedicures are for girls is what my internal voice said. Luckily, my 20 year husband voice won the day, and I responded that's a great idea! You know I love trying new things! So I manned up and we got pedis.

I felt quite the range of emotions during my 25 minute experience, including: superiority (look at how cultured I am, I'm a man getting a pedi!), relaxation (ooooh, warm bath water), apprehension (should I really be enjoying a public bath?), uneasiness (uh, what's she going to do with the blue goop?), discomfort (why am I paying someone for the privilege of using dental tools on my toe nails?), and of course joy (Shira was happy, so I was happy).

And can I just say, my toes look awesome! They've never been so beach ready. And my gosh, my calves are so moisturized!

Ultimately, I still can't claim to get it. The experience was OK and all, yet I'd hardly call it luxurious. Maybe it's an acquired taste and I just haven't acquired it yet.

Lesson 3: I'm never going to out project Shira

I'm proud of the gift I made for Shira for our anniversary. It was a photo book that required hours of sorting through pictures, songs and composing text. It took me weeks to put together. Of course I knew that if the gift didn't work out, the effort would be appreciated. When Shira took the book out of the packaging, I knew the project was a success.

Then yesterday, I got my gift from Shira. It makes my effort look like I phoned it in.

She presented me with a 4x4 foot canvas covered in over 100 painstakingly placed photos; all aligned to the millimeter. She spent the last *year* reviewing the thousands of photos we've accumulated from our travels. A special thanks to our friend Dawn for being her partner in this endeavor and for finishing up the last 1/2 of the project on her own. The project is amazing. I was informed that for our 40th, I'm getting a watch.

I'm telling you, I thought I had Shira with my book idea. Little did I know that I was thinking so small.

Happy 20th babe, here's to many more lessons learned!