Anniversary Edition--The Big Two Five

Suddenly, I woke up and realized I had lived with my husband over twenty six years. Tuesday, April 30th, 2013, we are celebrating our twenty fifth wedding anniversary. While we went to Las Vegas earlier in the month, we both have the day off and will go out to eat at a special restaurant and maybe do something fun locally.

Here is our "official" wedding portrait, taken by a friend who has since passed on:

We were both a lot thinner, we were missing the grey and could those glasses have been any bigger? It almost didn't happen, because Chris put off buying shoes until the night before. It was a real test of our abilities to compromise and deal with each others' foibles. I always joke that it was only that I figured I may as well go through with it and collect the insurance later. Could always make it look like an accident.

It sure wasn't easy. I worked sixty-five hours the week of my wedding and had to find someone to work for me that Friday night. We had to delay the honeymoon a week, because Chris worked at a TV station and it was the end of ratings. When we finally got out of town, we spent a few days in St. Louis.

It kind of weirded me out that we flew out of St. Louis to go to Vegas this year. But, before we got married, Chris went out with some friends to a couple of the strip clubs in the area. He did tell me pretty much what all happened, but the thing that made me smile most was the DJ welcoming him to The Brotherhood of the Ring. Of course, the password was, "Yes, Dear."

 We were not starry-eyed teenagers.We were both in our late twenties. We met through mutual friends at the science fiction conventions in the region and found out we had met over a decade before at a "Star Trek" fan club meeting. So, this was pretty much how we rolled:

Financially, it hasn't always been easy, but we realize how lucky we are.

I really love holding hands. It's reassuring and comforting.

There were a few times our strong personalities clashed, but I can count them on one hand.

We've had some great adventures--from Martha's Vineyard to Key West, from Hawaii to Washington, D. C. We love wandering through a used book or record store or even spending time in our local library.

We've had some great role models. My parents were married almost sixty years and his parents celebrated their 60th last year.

This was one of my parents' favorite jokes:

That's been the biggest challenge is realizing we change, but still stay the same. The key is communicating.

I really have to say:

And here we are, in front of The Bellagio Hotel in Vegas, 25 years later:

Of course, everything is fair game and so many of our stories will show up in my fiction. We will have so many more stories in the future! Here's to 25 more years!