It’s Friday, October 13th. Our wedding anniversary. It’s been thirty four years since we eloped, wow.
How does the special day pass for a couple of our longevity? It’s pretty much a journey, like most days, but with higher stakes. Everything should be “right” on a big day, right? From my perspective, anyway.
I got out of bed before 5 as usual. Fed the cats, made coffee, checked the news, futzed around at the computer. Before teaching yoga, I tidied away the project I have been working on the last few days as an “anniversary gift” for us.
After yoga, I brought Tod breakfast in bed: coffee and a slice of pizza toast. While he got ready for his workday, I started some laundry, took out the trash, had a short morning meeting with the workers pouring concrete around the septic tank. Then I mixed up a yogurt cake and put it in the oven.
Clearly, morning is my best time.
Tod was running late for his first meeting, so he took the car and we made a plan to have lunch together and run errands at noon.
After he left, I got to work on the anniversary gift, a headboard for the bed. I was making it from entirely found materials – foamcore board I had lying around, packing materials, pillows, and some old linens. I’d put the padded board part together already and today I was going to execute the legs and cover that would hold the whole thing together.
It didn’t go as well as expected and I was disappointed. I left it broken on the bed to mull a solution while I attended the cake, which was almost ready to come out of the oven.
Off the rails
Moments after the cake finished, I got a text from Tod telling me that he’d forgotten he had a seminar from noon. Could we go to lunch and errands early? Like now? I covered the cake (Beryl, I know you love cake but this one is mine), told the workers I’d be back soon, and met Tod at the bottom of the driveway.
We selected the finest bento 7-11 had to offer, and then stopped at the home center. And here’s where my day went off the rails.
I was getting materials to execute the landscaping over the French drain. But I didn’t know which soil was best for the ornamental grass I’d been gifted. Tod questioned the entire concept of planting over a French drain to the point that I gave up. I left Komeri without the things I needed and with a big lump of frustration in my heart.
Now I had a cake, a headboard that wasn’t working, and no way to plant the grass my friend had given me. Not great. A bad mood descended.
I thought we’d eat at Tod’s office so he could log into his seminar. I’d drive the car home after lunch (or maybe I’d go back to the home center and get the soil). But he drove us up to 555. Oh.
I quickly cleared the dining room table of sewing cruft and we ate our bentos in silence, mostly. I needed time to realign my expectations with reality.
Back on track
Tod attended his seminar from bed, leaning against the wonky headboard. I took a nap, falling asleep during the boring introductions, and woke up an hour later with a blinding headache. Urgh.
Tod returned to his office and I did “ADHD housework” which involves flitting back and forth from one thing to another until something catches my attention. Do I have ADHD? Probably. Maybe not? It doesn’t matter.
I sort of fixed the headboard. Then I went outside and planted a little bit of the grass. I served cake and tea to our landowner and his buddy who came to measure the shipping container they will remove from our driveway next week. I cleaned up all the things, including myself.
When Tod finished work for the day, we celebrated our anniversary with dinner at the top rated restaurant in Kamogawa according to Google Maps: Naan House. It’s an average Nepalese-run Indian restaurant that we’ve been going to since we first arrived here. It’s not terrible. It is convenient.
Home from dinner by 7:30, we sat in the living room and talked, played Wordle, showed each other cat videos and memes, had a slice of yogurt cake. It was unremarkable, long-married couple time. Relaxed and comfortable.
Just before getting ready for bed, I remembered to take a photo of us to mark the day. I think this one is one of the best anniversary snaps yet.
