We recently celebrated our 12 year wedding anniversary and I woke my husband up to, "OMG babe! Do you know what today is?" -- as I was logging in to get my kids' mandated quarantine homeschool started and the date casually showed up on the computer screen. His reply was, "yes babe...happy anniversary...I love you." To which I replied, "do you have anything planned?" And of course he said no. He was asleep; tired because having 4 kids at home while you still have to work means that you sometimes work after they go to bed. I determined to still celebrate and make it a memorable day! Here are some tips for celebrating a quarantine anniversary;
1. Get dressed up! - Yes I know that you can't go very far but I promise that you'll feel better if you put on some makeup and a nice dress and see him in a nice shirt and trousers for the occasion. Even if it's to eat a DoorDash meal, sit on the hood of your car and watch the sunset or take a bike ride on a paved trail! While dressed up you'll also be inclined to take more photos. You'll want to have photos to show your grandkids the time when you celebrated your wedding anniversary in a global pandemic! Getting dressed makes any occasion more memorable!
2. Look on the bright-side! - I know, I know...my idea of the bright side was wearing sunglasses on the beach in the Caribbean, Hawaii or Mexico as well. But hey! I realize that attitude is everything. If you sulk about the day being ruined it will be...if you say that you're going to make the day memorable it will be. My husband went out and bought some bikes...I rode on a trail in my fancy dress, stopped to smell the wildflowers, looked at the ducklings and listened to frogs croaking in the lake at sunset. The purple, yellow, blue, orange and green hues of the Seattle sunset was just so spectacular! I swear that mother earth has been thanking us all for staying inside so she can rest by rewarding us with beautiful sunsets! It was exhilarating. Honestly the attitude I brought to the day helped it to be the most memorable anniversary ever! And we were not too far from our home! Perspective is everything!
3. Involve the kids! My kids begged to be dropped off at their grandparents' home as it's what we do every year on our anniversary. However, I would not be able to forgive myself if we were carriers of COVID 19 and unknowingly got them ill. So although they begged we brought them along and involved them. We prayed to thank God for mom and dad's anniversary, had them tell us what they'd like for us to eat -- the debate was between pizza and Taco Bell and they got dressed up as well and rode their bikes with us.
It was a romantic memory for the entire family! The last time we celebrated with a kid was when we took our oldest to a fancy restaurant with us for our 1 year anniversary when he was 2 months old (yes, we had a honeymoon baby). He cried the whole time, I was engorged and had to nurse in a dress that was cute but not nursing friendly and I couldn't wait to leave! However, if we celebrated our love in a way that felt more organic to us it would've been no problem. A picnic in the park with our newborn baby as we tried some new fancy desserts would've been quite fine! I think that we'll involve them in our celebrations from here on out!
4. Make it your own! I'm an outdoorsy girl and my hubby loves photography/videography and sports. He enjoyed taking photos of us, I was in outdoor heaven as I stumbled upon a community garden on our ride and we enjoyed watching the Michael Jordan documentary when we got home.
You might hate the outdoors and the idea of riding into a swarm of sand flies on a date may have you mortified! And that it totally ok! Perhaps you enjoy cooking, crafting, singing, dancing, painting, watching movies, making movies, writing, trying new foods, driving, going on long walks, running, hiking and the list can go on forever. Whatever your "thing" is -- it will be a great time to introduce it to your signifiant other. There are so many great remote experiences available now. If you love art google "virtual paint and sip", if you enjoy photography get dressed up and take some photos, if you love cooking cook a destination themed meal such as Japanese, Italian or Indian. It's amazing how feed can wake up your senses. You can then watch a foreign movie from that country with subtitles. Stick to what sparks joy in you and the possibilities are endless!
5. Makeover your bedroom! As we're spending so much more time in our homes we might begin noticing projects that need to be done. One area that we tend to neglect and leave for last is our bedroom. I told my spouse that I want nothing more than to put money aside to dedicate to making our love nest more beautiful. I think that investing in the place where the 2 of you make the best memories...wink, wink...is a great way to commemorate your nuptials!
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