3 years ago today at 3 o clock in the afternoon I became the wife of Jesse Cone!

As far as anniversaries go, we have pretty much the worst luck. I guess I could actually see each ironic day as an unique commentary on our marriage and the way we’ve grown. Our first anniversary was spent in San Antonio, since we were moving. We were scared and didn’t know what on earth we were getting into by moving halfway across the country. On our second anniversary, we did indeed go out to dinner, but I ended up getting sick. Jesse and I spent the remainder of our “date” in the ER since the doctor’s office was closed. We were both up all night, sitting in the waiting room, squinting at each other in the harsh florescent lighting. But I do feel that it accurately showcases how we care for one another, even when it means doing something so un-fun on a day that was supposed to be special.

This final anniversary, I had somehow convinced myself that things would be different. We would be normal. Wait until Thursday so we could eat meat, go out to dinner, catch a movie. You know, normal anniversary date stuff.

No such luck! I had a 6:30-7:30am piano lesson this morning (yes, the waiting list got so impatient and the money is so good, I am now doing “before school lessons”!) and as I got back in the car, the engine light was on. And the car wasn’t acting too happy. Or SOUNDING too happy, for that matter. I called Jesse and he agreed to meet me at the repair shop.

The whole way to the Metro Volkswagen repair shop I cried. I hate, hate, HATE this car. So much. You know how they say certain sorts of things could end up happening to old cars? They HAPPEN. ALL of them. To us. I’m just letting everyone out there know why we never have any money for fun things, like Disneyland. WE SPEND OVER $2K/YEAR ON CAR REPAIRS. THAT DOESN’T EVEN FIGURE IN CAR PAYMENTS.

Whew. Got that out.

But what’s the problem with a car that is depreciating faster than you can keep it out of the shop? It’s hard to stomach that you won’t make any money by selling it. So, every time we get it back with its clean bill of health, we say, “Oh, we can’t sell it NOW, it just got fixed!”

Anyways, there I was, on my anniversary, pulling up to the dealer. The man at the desk asked, “Have you been here before?” I laughed, or rather, guffawed, rather rudely into his face. Are you kidding me man? Don’t you know my name? We’re regulars here! We’ve already carved our names into the back of those seats! You guys are on our family household payroll! I’ll probably deliver my first child in your waiting room someday!

So that’s how we spent the first half of our anniversary, sitting in the lobby of the car repair shop, eating pretzels and saying hello to Regis and Kelly.

The good news is, only best friends could survive the kind of stuff we’ve gone through. And that’s so true of our relationship. We have actually designed our own “BFF” teeshirts and have come close to ordering them. In some ways, we are so content just to hang out and enjoy each other’s company that it’s caused both of us to become boring home-bodies. We spend the evenings playing the guitar and singing together, reading funny blogs out loud, or laughing through tv series that we both enjoy.

So maybe, someday, we will have an anniversary that accurately reflects the wonderful relationship we have instead of letting it highlight our struggles!