What is 25 Years?

The beginning of August marked 25 years of marriage for Tom and I. “What is 25 years?” I asked Tom.  And all I got from him was “Seems like forever!” I had been thinking about it for several weeks. I had high hopes for our silver anniversary. I remember my mom and dad’s 25^th. I insisted on a party with their closest friends, had them get their portrait taken, and put it in the newspaper like other couples did on their 25^th, 50^th, and beyond, anniversaries. I wanted to make sure ours was special too. I like to think that a 25^th anniversary is kind of a big deal. We started out with grand plans for a week-long boat trip to the North Channel, the vacation spot of Tom’s childhood that I have heard about for 25 years. But as the date got closer, we realized that wasn’t going to be a reality so we planned a motorcycle trip for a weekend in the U.P. A few weeks before our trip, Tom hinted at his anniversary present to me. That he had “knocked it out of the park.” Since he is usually pretty elusive about his gifts, the fact that he was hinting around made me realize how excited he was about it. The day before our trip he revealed his surprise- he had not only found the hotel we spent our wedding night in, but he booked the very room, which was waterfront, overlooking Mackinac Island, for the first night of our trip. I was so moved by this gesture that I got a little tearful. So imagine my true surprise when we arrived in St. Ignace and not only did they not have our special room reserved, but they didn’t have a reservation for us at all. The only thing they had was a “Sorry, but we can get you in a room (not “that” room) tomorrow night.” Tomorrow night wasn’t an option. Tom looked absolutely defeated as he watched his gift crash and burn. “It’s OK,” I said, “Let’s just see if we can find something somewhere else.” Luckily, we found a room down the street. It wasn’t overlooking Mackinac Island, but the Starline Ferry parking lot and we didn’t awaken to lapping waves, but to 80’s music blaring from the parking lot speakers. Despite the disappointing start to our 25^th anniversary weekend, we made the most of it and enjoyed our time together. That weekend gave us a memory we can look back on fondly and even laugh a little. Because 25 years is powering through the tough times and disappointments and making the most of things when they are easy and when they are hard. We embark on the next 25 years of this trip together as empty-nesters. I can’t wait to see what kind of surprises are in store for us.