Jul 30 2002
Happy Anniversary!
Today Robert and I celebrate our second wedding anniversary.
Mark Twain expresses it best:
A marriage…
makes of two fractional lives a whole;
it gives to two purposeless lives a work,
and doubles the strength of each to perform it;
it gives to two questioning natures
a reason for living,
and something to live for;
it will give a new gladness to the sunshine,
a new fragrance to the flowers,
a new beauty to the earth,
and a new mystery to life.
These words are as true today as they were on the first day of our married life together.
In honor of this occasion, I’d like to share some of the most memorable experiences Robert and I have shared.
- Robert and I met on an online roleplaying game called Aldebaran. In that fantasy world, we discovered what snotlings were, imbibed in one too many firebreathers and had deep and meaningful conversations with Harry the Affectionate.
- When we met for the first time in real life, Robert brought his girlfriend along. It was an awkward encounter, to say the least, since we harbored a crush on one another. He thought I had nice legs. I thought he had the most beautiful eyes and smile. (I still do!)
- After being out of touch for nearly a year, Robert wrote me a friendly e-mail inquiring about my welfare. He also mentioned that he had broken up with his girlfriend.
- When I wrote back, I had butterflies in my stomach.
- We started talking on the phone for hours and hours each night. It was agony for us to end the calls. We fantasized about a time when we could meet in person again.
- When we finally arranged another visit, Robert showed up an entire day before he was expected. He said he couldn’t wait any longer!
- I asked what Robert would like to do while he was in Montana and he leaned over and kissed me. He surprised us both. 
- We bought my engagement ring at Rockin’ Rudy’s, a music and souvenir store. The ring cost $7. I’m sad to say I lost that ring.
- During that same visit, we went to the movie theatre to watch “You’ve Got Mail.” We were amused at how it paralelled our own experience.
- I moved to Seattle a couple of months later. Robert and I lived in the basement of a small rental house. While our housemates had rooms of their own, they camped out in the living room 24-7. It was an odd living arrangement.
- During the early days of our relationship, I tried to play Happy Homemaker which entailed preparing extravagant meals for us. One day, I bought a lot of shrimp and tried “butterflying” them. They turned into a pulpy mess. He caught me in the act of throwing them into the garbage can with my face streaming with tears. He ended up helping me prepare the meal for that night.
- We developed a private language: puffin, armadillo, kp, gp, etc.
- One day, out of the blue, he surprised me with a dozen roses and a piano.
- At one point, Robert despaired about ever paying off all his debts. I told him that the solution wasn’t working more hours at his current job, but getting a better paying job. He decided he wanted to get into computers, so he bought a few books and started studying.
- Robert got that better paying job AND payed off his debts.
- Robert knew how much I liked cats, so he took me to a humane society adoption center and picked out Zora. While he insists that she’s my cat, he loves playing with her and spoiling her with new toys.
- Robert surprised me with a vacation to San Franciso and LA. The best part was riding the Amtrak down the California Coast. It was so romantic!
- After I had missed a couple days of work for what I thought was the flu, one of my friends suggested that I might be pregnant. I laughed at the idea at first, but it grew on me. Robert took me to the pharmacy to buy a pregnancy test. The next morning, after taking the test, I couldn’t make sense of the results. He took one look at the test, said I was pregnant and tried rolling over to go back to sleep. I wouldn’t let him though, I was too excited!
- Robert went to every one of the lamaze classes with me. He looked forward to them and was very supportive.
- Robert gave in to my out-of-control nesting instinct the day I went into labor and drove me all the way up to Babies-R-Us to pick up the dresser. He timed my contractions on the way. He carried the dresser in the house by himself.
- Robert urged me to open my eyes to see my son for the first time.
I’m looking forward to the many more beautiful experiences we’ll share in the years to come. I love you Robert. :hearthrob:
