Willow Anniversary

(Originally published in 2008)

John and I celebrated our 9 year anniversary in June. Every year he gets me the traditional gift. For example, the first year is paper, so he created a newsletter for our family with stories and pictures. Last year was pottery, so he took me to a place where you can create your own. I made a plate and he made a mug.

This year was willow. He usually doesn’t tell me, and I’m not allowed to ask or look it up. But he was stumped. He couldn’t think of anything, so he asked if it would be ok if we went to visit the largest willow tree in North Carolina. Yep. I’m a cheap date. That sounded fun. It was in the mountains, so I got to combine this with traipsing around looking at antique shops to see if I could find an appropriate gift for myself. I thought about getting a Blue Willow plate or one of those Willow figurines, but after looking at them I realized I already have enough decorations in my house. Pictures of us next to a huge willow tree sounded perfect.

The location was unimpressive for such a grand tree. It was next to a small school which I’m sure is a very nice school, but it was not much to look at – a bunch of gray single-wide trailers. Still, we got some nice pictures and created a memory. And the dogs got to come.