Happy Anniversary To Me

Here comes the bride, big---Well, you know the rest. Today is mine and Cat Daddy's 35th wedding anniversary. In case you were wondering, yes I was a child bride. In fact, I was only 3 years old(maybe in dog years) when I married. People ask all the time for the secret to staying married for so long and I always say I'm too old to start over, but I'm just joking. I have a simple philosophy for longevity in a marriage:

1. Accepting who you are marrying for the person they are or are not. Girls, the only thing you can change about a man is his diaper when he's old. He is what he is. You can hose him down and clean him up, but he's still a man. Vive la differance!

2. Respecting each other and each other's privacy. I really don't think I need to elaborate on this one except to say in the 35 years we have been married, I have never felt the need to share the bathroom, if you know what I mean. There are just some things that need to remain a mystery(see rule #1 about when he's old).

3. Flirting with each other. This is just fun and as a side benefit, it makes you feel young.

4. Being willing to adapt. If you're thinking what happened to being accepting, that's of him. Adapting is about you. In all the years Cat Daddy and I have been married, he has never put the empty milk carton in the trash and couldn't close a cupboard door if his life depended on it. This would really chap my posterior. I'd nag and bully, but I still ended up closing that stupid cupboard door and that got me to thinking about what he does for me that I take for granted. Like he always makes sure I have a cold coke in the fridge or if we are on the road, he does all the driving. I decided it was a fair trade off. So now, I pick my battles. It's all about flexibility(which btw, is another topic of conversation).

5. Keeping romance alive and well. For his part, when he brings home flowers they are never for special occasions like for Valentine's. I call these my "just because bouquets"- just because he cares that maybe I haven't had the best of days or just because he loves me. For my part, I put on that little slip of a gown he bought me that is two sizes too small because I think it's sweet he thinks I can still fit into that size and because I only have to wear it for maybe 5 minutes(TMI).

I could go on and on about this subject, but I think this has turned into a love letter to my husband of 35 funny years and I'm feeling a little romantic myself, so I'll close with:

DO NOT DISTURB!