Decide Your Results Ahead Of Time

My wedding anniversary was fast approaching. Eighteen years. Time certainly flies. Some parts of my life is a blur, not sure if it is because I was just going through the motions or trying not to remember much of it.

A lot has happened during these eighteen years. Two amazing kids entered our lives. We made some close friends along the way. Our kids became friends with our friends’ kids. I finished my extended post graduate training and (finally) became an attending physician. Just to name a few.

I enjoy celebrations. Birthdays, weddings, retirements, holidays… you name it, I like to find any reason to celebrate. Celebration is fun. Celebration is because I am thankful. I am thankful for the person, for the situation. My glass is (more than) half full.

To celebrate is to commemorate an occasion, to have a good time and to rejoice. To whole-heartedly celebrate, my mind has to be focused on the richness of the situation, the things I get to have in life, an overall abundant feeling.  

There are many ways to celebrate. For our wedding anniversary, I chose to celebrate with our friends. I wanted to keep it simple and cozy. Although I have always wanted to get the same cake top layer as our original 4-tiered wedding cake, that has not been my top priority (and I have never been ready to pay several hundred dollars just for it).

As I haven’t seen some of my good friends for over 2 years due to the pandemic, I have decided to invite them to our house for a barbeque. It happens to be memorial weekend, so barbeque is just a natural event to start the summer. I did not mention to my friends that it was our anniversary.

My husband and I decided on the menu which consisted of different salads, ribs and chicken. Weather permitting, the gathering would be in our backyard; otherwise, we would host indoors. Beautiful weather would be icing on the cake, but the most important part was to enjoy our friendship and in-person, real-human connections.

My friends usually ask what to bring over. This occasion was no exception. I told them not to bring anything, just come over and relax.

I decided to celebrate on Memorial Sunday. That day is the actual anniversary day. I was praying for good weather so the kids can enjoy more outdoor activities rather than being glued to their electronic devices.

Saturday, the day before our anniversary. The sky was grey. Scattered rain storms appeared throughout most of the day. The weather forecast did predict mostly sunny weather on Sunday.

Sunday. The special day arrived. It is special because 18 years ago, my husband and I made a vow to be united, to be together no matter what we go through in life, to lift each other up. I am beyond thankful to have this companion to walk with my in this journey on this earth.

Friends started to arrive. The first family came with several boxes of ice-cream. Then the next family came with gelato. Others brought over pastries, cookies and Italian ices. Another family brought a cake.

Our friends brought themselves over and also some of the desserts they enjoy. As I was praying and giving thanks with the whole group before dinner, I also revealed that it was our anniversary, and that I was excited and thankful to have friends to share this day with. Later on I found out that my friend who brought the cake had put my anniversary date on her calendar.

I cherish any time with our friends. I decided ahead of time that we would all have a great time regardless of the weather, the food or any other circumstances we could not control. That gathering was way overdue. All of us got to pick up where we left off (before the pandemic). The in-person connection was priceless. All of our children got to reconnect and play outdoors, almost as if electronics did not exist in their lives. That was priceless. Most importantly, the in-person connection was authentic, effortless and amazing.