June 7 – “Anniversary Adventure”

Well, Chris and I made it through year 38 together.  Quite a ride.  We didn’t plan anything spectacular this year.  Thank you to everyone for all the good wishes and smart-aleck comments about the photo I posted.  Yes, we were but children, but back in the day arranged marriages were common.  Haven’t you studied ancient history?

Nathan and April and Cailyn came over and hung out with Mom so Chris and I could go out to lunch.  That meant Gringos.  Gotta love those free ice cream cones at the door.  Chris could eat Mexican food every day of the week.  My favorite is always seafood, so I try to get her to Gringos every once in a while.  Or at least to Salsas.  Taco Bell doesn’t so much do it for her for some reason.  Besides, driving clear into Texas to eat lunch really made it a special occasion, right? 

After lunch did what any couple on an anniversary adventure would do.  We made a visit to a nude furniture warehouse.  It has been five years since Hurricane Ike, so we are finally starting on replacing our furnishings.  We are trying to find out how much it will cost to get a cabinet made to put Chris’s Precious Moments collection and some old dishes in.  She has all the specs she wants all worked out – 14 inches deep.  53 inches wide (or maybe a little less.  That’s how much space we have between the window and door where she wants to put it).  84 inches tall.  Sounds like the type of wood is negotiable, but we plan to stain it dark.  I have a very difficult time painting anything crafted from wood.  Glass doors on the front.  Doesn’t have to be real fancy.  We also asked about some wood bookcases.  We have 15 feet of wall space in our entry hall that we want to line with bookcases.  Those we’ll stain a lighter color.  Little simpler specs there.  72 or 84 inches tall.  12 inches deep.  The warehouse lady came up with a breakdown of two at 48 inches wide and two at 42 inches wide.  Some day when we get wealthy we might actually get what she wants. 

After the warehouse we tried to track down someplace that sells hard cases for baritone ukuleles.  Another Ike casualty.  I replaced my uke, but haven’t been able to find a case.  We drove to Seabrook following our only lead, only to find that the place is a web-only operation.  The address we went to was someone’s home.  In fact the home looked very familiar.  As we pondered the situation, Chris remembered that many years ago we had actually been to that very house.  They are friends of our friends Robert and Melinda Creech, and they make ukuleles.  We purchased a banjo uke from them back in the day.  That one didn’t survive Ike, either.  Anyway, I guess we’ll check the website and see if we can order a case from them.  Ukelele World.  Sounds simple enough.

So our foray into the nether regions of far-away Texas on our 38^th anniversary excursion turned up pretty much nothing in the way of purchases except some tacos and enchiladas.  And some much-needed time away from the house for Chris.  Such a shame that she had to spend it hanging out with me.  But then, she’s been hanging out with me for a very long time now.  I’m not interested in changing that any time soon.  I love you, Chris.  Happy Anniversary.

Matthew 6:33-34 says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Father, tomorrow sure seems a lot easier to think about with you in my heart and Chris by my side.  Thanks for that.  Amen.