Hot date!

Well, it's a date, anyway. And not just a night of sharing popcorn and not talking to each other at the movie theater. Tonight, Mike and I are going to a bonafide soiree -- a black tie shindig. I even shaved my legs for the occasion. (And the few toes that required it, too.)

We just made the plans to attend yesterday, so I hadn't given much thought about what to wear. (This will not surprise my college roommates who were privy to my last minute "what to wear" freak outs for sorority dances.) When I did think about it today, I began to hyperventilate just a wee bit. There was NOTHING in my closet that would qualify as "formal."

Dress Barn to the rescue! They actually had a several contenders in the social occasion dress category. I had Robbie with me. He waited outside the dressing room and I would come out to show him each option. I really thought I was in trouble when he said "Mom, that's really weird" at the first selection. But he was able to help me narrow it down to three choices.

Not wanting to leave my fashion fate up to a nine-year-old who believes socks and underwear are optional, I asked the sales girl to help me decide from the final three. The winner is a deepish v, front and back, with some rusched fabric under the "girls," followed by a black and gray sequined skirt.

I actually feel kind of sexy in it -- as long as I don't look in the mirror. Looking like you have a pumpkin shoved up your dress is cute when you're pregnant. Not so cute when your "baby" is almost 10-years-old.

But that's an insecurity for another night. Tonight is date night. I'm wearing a pretty dress and make-up -- it's been months since I've worn make-up. I have on panty hose and dressy, but comfortable, shoes. I'm carrying a black lacy evening bag and wrapping my shoulders in a silk pashmina.

And I'm going out on the town with the man I said "I do" to 19 years ago this Tuesday. It's all good.

(I'll post pictures later. My carriage awaits.)

6,575 days

157,800 hours

9,468,000 minutes 

568,080,000 seconds

Sometimes happily

Sometimes grudgingly

Sometimes with laughter

Sometimes with gritted teeth

Sometimes in fatness
Sometimes in shape

Sometimes in plenty

Sometimes in want (relatively speaking...)

Sometimes with absolute certainty

Sometimes with doubt

Always blessed

568,080,000 seconds

9,468,000 minutes  

157,800 hours 

6,575 days

18 years of "I do."
Happy anniversary to my huzzzband.

Lessons learned in 15 years of marriage

Fifteen years ago today -- October 9, 1993 -- Mike and I got married. We were (too) young and in love and declared that love in front of 300 of our closest friends and other people our parents told us we had to invite.

The priest who married us told us that the key to a long and happy marriage is "communicate, communicate, communicate." Our families gave us advice like "never go to bed angry" and "marriage is not 50/50 -- it's 100/100."

We took it all in and practically skipped into our "happily ever after." (I told you we were young.)

Over the past 15 years, I've learned a few things:

1. "Communicate, communicate, communicate" sometimes sounds like "nag, nag, nag."
   
   
2. E-mail is the best way to make a "honey do" list -- it leaves you with an electronic rebuttal to "you never told me that."
   
   
3. Mowing the lawn really is man's work, especially when the woman is too weak to get the mower started.
   
   
4. Laundry really is woman's work, unless you don't mind fishing for your clothes in a five-load pileup on the couch.
   
   
5. The side of the bed you choose on your wedding night is yours forever, so choose wisely.
   
   
6. Being married with three kids is ALOT like having four kids.
   
   
7. My style of parenting is not the only way -- it's the right way, but not the only way.
   
   
8. Hiring a babysitter and getting out of the house without the kids is important. Even better if you actually do something together.
   
   
9. When your husband tells you how much he paid for something unnecessary, automatically add 20% to his answer.
   
   
10. You don't realize how fat you are when you're both getting fat together.
    
    
11. If you want an honest answer, ask your wife. (Is my hair thinning?)
    
    
12. If you want a politically correct answer, ask your husband. (Do I look fat?)
    
    
13. When he said, "All I ever really needed to know I learned from Star Trek," he was serious.
    
    
14. When his parents say "thank you, thank you, thank you for marrying him," they are serious.
    
    
15. "In-laws" is not a four-letter word, though they may occasionally cause you to mutter a few.
    

Happy 15th Anniversary to My Huzzzband.
Love, Your Wyfe.

If you liked this, check out "Wedding Vows: A Reality Check."