25 Adventurous Years!

Wednesday, April 30th was our Silver Anniversary. Being the creative person that I am I decided to make Alan's card and put special words from my heart. He really enjoyed the card and said it was better than any I could have bought. For our anniversary we exchanged some gifts and went out to a fabulous Chinese Restaurant in Annapolis. We went all out and ordered so much that it almost didn't fit on the table. I discovered a wonderful fish dish they called the Hawaiian Fish Plate and it was mouth watering, Alan said I'd made a perfect choice. It had pinapple and veggies in it. Alan gave me a beautiful engraved silver heart locket, an exquisite music jewelry box from the Anastasia collection engraved and a pretty silver butterfly barret for my hair. He also gave me a silver snowglobe with two silver angels inside. The song that it played was called Romance. I gave Alan 2 silver lighters engraved. Now that he's quit smoking he won't use it as much but I'll make sure we have lots of candlight dinners so he can. I also gave him a silver engraved flask to keep water or his favorite drink with him when we're on excursions during vacation. The flask has a special compartment that would usually hold cigerettes but I transformed it into a photo compartment and put a silver engraved money clip inside. I really got creative after he had his heart attack. After he had his heart attack I went shopping for something better as I didn't think my gifts would be that great (this was before I transformed them) and found the perfect gift at Hallmark. It's a 'manly' picture frame that looks like an antique book and I placed some of our wedding photos in it. The top of the frame says 'Our 25th Anniversary'. Alan thought it would look nice in our travel trailer that we're still planning on getting next year to move back to the west coast. I had written Alan a special poem for our anniversary also. Here it is:

Happy 25th Anniversary

Our lives have taken many paths, some rough and some nice

And the gift of our true love did come with a price

With each laugh, each tear, each kiss, or harsh word

Our love was molded to perfection and forgiveness was learned

We are survivors in an age when love seems to die

Giving up wasn’t an option, or our vows would’ve been lies

I thank you for continuing to be the man that you were created to be

But most of all I thank you for the love you shared with me

You’ve been my Knight in Shining Armor as well as my Big Chief

You’ve been my friend and my lover, endearing and sweet

We’ve shared a lifetime of memories, none of them dull

Living life to the fullest, a life most colorful

Our love has blossomed over these twenty-five years

And you have become to me, even more dear.

Thank you for 25 adventurous years!

Writen by Karen Reardon
April 2008

I also wrote this:

I Remember when…

…we first met, and how you became my knight in shining armor.

…James walked in on us asking, “Are you going to be my new daddy?”

…you sat me on the couch to tell me something very important. I thought it was going to be that you were married with a bunch of kids. It turned out to be that you weren’t 21 yet and lived with your parents.

…I first cut your beautiful, long hair as you were going on a job interview. I think that’s when I won your mom over.

…you taught me to play pool and wasn’t easy on me? I learned to be good enough that I was your partner at tournaments and we’d win lots of meat!

…I won your love with my homemade chicken and dumplings. I still couldn’t compete with your mom’s steak dinners though.

…I rode on the back of your motorcycle holding my nose as we hurried past stinky Everett. One time we slept under the Deception Pass Bridge after eating several boxes of McDonald’s chicken nuggets?

…we took the ferry to Woodby Island wearing my long white skirt that you liked; you said I looked like a little Dutch girl?

…we spent a July weekend with your family and slept in a squeaky bed? In the morning we tried to sneak out in your Grandpa’s boat with a 6-pack. That afternoon the funniest golf game ever took place with your mother and Grandma Pansy. Most of my golf balls ended up in the lake but it was fun.

…we danced and thinking, “boy you’re tall and I’m short!”

…we decided to move into a house in Mountlake Terrace with the kids and we would play Miss Pac-Man in bed? I decided one morning that I wasn’t going to make you breakfast until I could get through the first screen.

…we would go bowling at my work tournament and on weekends watching you and Grandpa Bill challenge each other in several games of bowling.

…we fished at Echo Lake on cold weekend mornings with the kids and you teaching me the secret of catching fish with marshmallows.

…you would take James fishing before he went to school and the day he caught his first fish.

…we took trips to Fort Casey with the kids and how they loved it.

…we went to the beach on Woodby Island and you gathering enough wood to make us a big bon-fire, I would call you my Big Chief and we would make S’mores.

…we ate cherries from the tree in your parents’ yard and how I politely spit all the seeds in my hand…and trying to look ‘normal’

…I made us with fresh Lingcod that you had caught…mmm, good.

…the day I came home from work and went to the pool where you gave me a kiss and then took it upon yourself to push me in the pool with my dress, hose, and heels on? The expressions on people’s faces were priceless. I couldn’t believe you actually did that!

…I would get lost coming home from the corner store.

…I had trouble parking my Pinto and would high-center it.

…you taught me to play cribbage and then playing with your dad by his rules?

…I crocheted a sweater for you and you insisting it being done by Thanksgiving Day so you could show it off to your relatives at the cabin on Woodby Island.

…you followed your own instinct and won a $500 Scratch-Off after I told you that you should’ve just taken the $2 you’d won from the previous Scratch-Off. Good thing you didn’t listen to me that time.

…I got a job at the place your mother worked after being up all night. I should’ve gotten an Oscar for that Award Winning Performance!

…we went to the place your sister worked in Seattle and everyone bought us shots of rum for our Blue Hawaiian drinks.

…staying up all night playing cards with Myrna, Jim, and Tim.

…you bought me a ring for Valentine’s Day; it had a small heart on it. Do you know that I still have that ring?

…you first got your motorcycle and took the kids and me to Edmonds Beach, one at a time.

…we took a vacation to the Oregon Coast with the kids and visited Mt. St. Helens
…and most of all, I remember the night you asked me to spend the rest of my life with you as your wife and I said “yes” (after asking Diana and James how they would feel about it of course), and how we missed the final episode of M.A.S.H.. We celebrated with champagne and announced our engagement to the whole world…at least everyone at The Village Inn. Thank you for 25 adventurous years!

Yes, we're romantics but isn't that what Love's all About?