A Day in the Life...: Happy 3 Years!

Sunday, June 8^th was our “official” (and un-official) 3 year anniversary. I say both, because over the past 3 years, we’ve had many conversations about what actually constituted our first date, and what was really the anniversary date. It’s changed a couple of times, but we’ve actually settled on June 8^th, which was when he messaged me out of the blue and took me to a Brett Dennen concert in Denver.

A shot from our seats on our first date :-)

A few weeks earlier, in 2011, Zach had taken me up on an offer to go to a Rockies game for free, but had to back out the day before, due to his summer work schedule. So, he invited me to the concert as a way to “pay me back” for bailing on the baseball game, and his friend who was going originally had to back out of the concert, so he didn’t want to go alone. We’ve gone back and forth on if this was a date or not, for various reasons, but eventually he agreed with me – he offered, he drove, he bought drinks and we got to spend our first time together outside of a work-related event. And, he was the one who texted a few weeks later and asked me out for drinks. So, if I hadn’t gone with him to the concert, would there have been a “second” date? Hmmm… who knows?

Either way, we aren’t big on celebrating big dates, which sounds bad, but it really doesn’t bother either of us. For example, I told him for our first Valentine’s Day together that I really didn’t care to celebrate it, and didn’t need/want to make a big deal out of it. I could tell that he wasn’t really sure if I meant that – (sometimes women say “don’t get me anything” and then rip into the poor guy when he doesn’t) – so it took a little convincing. I think when we passed February 14^th and he didn’t take me out or even get me a card and I didn’t get mad, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

So, we both knew that the 8^th would’ve been 3 years since our first date, so we talked about it a little bit. I was going to be coming back in town from a camping trip with my family, and he’d be working that morning. Based on past history for anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, and other holidays, I wasn’t really expecting much. I wasn’t even going to get anything for him, but I found a card in my running “stash” of emergency cards, and thought it worked well for us, so I decided to give it to him. It was something along the lines of me picking up a tomato in a grocery store and laughing about something he had said/done earlier, and other shoppers not getting why I was laughing. Inside, it just said “You’re good for me” – which is something we tell each other a lot. See? Perfect!

I ended up getting into town about an hour and a half past when I had predicted, and to my surprise, he texted me to see what I wanted for dinner. Now, not only is this a rare occurrence because I’m the one who cooks primarily, but he also doesn’t really plan for dinner like that – it’s not uncommon for us to spend an hour or so deciding what we want for dinner before the process begins. And then a follow-up shock – I threw out a suggestion, “something with chicken”, and then he came back with bratwursts and potatoes! It was a pretty rainy day, so it sounded perfect. I didn’t have to come up with ANY ideas, or even go out and get the ingredients – or cook even!!

When I got home, he was just finishing up dinner. We hugged, and then to my surprise – AGAIN – he reached over and handed me not one, but TWO cards with a “Happy 3 Years”! He’s not a card guy. I know exactly how many times he’s gotten me cards in the last 3 years (only for birthdays, and 2 – one funny, and one serious/normal). And he’s told me before he doesn’t quite understand what do you do with them once you’ve read them? Keep them forever? Throw them out right away? Keep them for 2-3 days, then toss? I can kind of see his point, but I’ll still keep getting him cards!!

Another interesting fact about us – he has never given me flowers. Not once. Not even on this occasion. (Apparently, one day he gathered some wildflowers on his golf course and was going to bring them to me, but had left them in the back of the cart, and they were ruined, so alas – no flowers for me). I wasn’t surprised or disappointed that he didn’t get me a “thing” for our anniversary. But what he did do actually did make me tear up.

He went grocery shopping. But not only for dinner. No, he went ahead and bought groceries for the entire week. 1 week of me not having to scroll through hundreds of recipes to find the right one that sounds good, that we’d both enjoy, that sounded good, that fit the budget/I didn’t have to pay for, etc. That alone would’ve been perfect. But – he started to show me the “extra” things he got. He actually bought some cookie dough for dessert, and he knows the oven is just awful and they’ll get burnt anyway. He even bought some veggies for me – carrots and bell peppers. And he HATES carrots, with a passion.

That’s when I started to tear up. He didn’t have to get me a “thing” to show he thought of me and listens to me and loves me. He went and did something for me that he knew I would appreciate, and all because it made him happy to see me happy. I’m sure part of it was that he was getting tired of going back and forth on dinner ideas each night, and one or both of us going to the store each night too, but I could tell he was excited to tell me what he did and show me what he got, because he knew I would love it!

And I did. Best anniversary gift I couldn’t have even thought to ask for.

It's been a fun 3 years!!

Our first official "public appearance" together - our old bosses got married!