Happy Anniversary (Kori's Top 10)

On November 28th, Thomas and I will celebrate 12 years of marriage. Twelve years is not an insignificant amount of time, but I still feel like it should be even longer. We have been together for most of my biggest life moments, most happy, a few sad. We talk about how lucky we are to have created the life we have completely together. We came to our union with nothing but a couple of used cars and have built a pretty nice life together. Everything we have, we did together and that is a nice feeling. We are big Christmas people, but tend to let the other gifting holidays go by with minor mention. I don't think we have ever exchanged gifts on Valentine's day, birthdays typically mean special treatment more than special gifts, and for our anniversary, we generally try and plan a fun date (this year we have two planned--dinner and a movie to see the last Hunger Games and a trip back to Wine & Design). This year, Thomas suggested that we give each other the gift of a blog post. We are to write about our 10 favorite memories together. The only rule is they have to be couple-centered (i.e. we can't say the moment Luke was born or when Jack and Anna took their first steps).

I immediately made a list and wrote down several memories. My list quickly exceeded 10, so I have narrowed it down to the following memories, in reverse order.  Although, the order is pretty arbitrary and could easily change depending on the day I am thinking about it. 

10. Beef stick and some cheese.  I can't remember the timing of this one. But, after one semester of school, we immediately got in the car and headed for Florida. It was a 12-hour drive and we were not starting at a good time (we literally went from our last exam straight to the car). But, to keep us fed and happy, we had a Hickory Farms beef stick and a block of cheddar cheese. I brought along a knife and crackers and that "treat" lasted for most of the drive. It is a fun memory--just thinking of us making that 800 miles trek with some meat and cheese crackers. Honestly, I am not sure why this memory cracks the top 10. Perhaps because I can remember running out of the school and feeling so relieved at having completed a semester of school and excited about embarking on an adventure with Thomas. We made that drive so many times, and we always had such good conversations and fun, but none of those drives can top the beef stick drive.

I don't have a lot of pictures of our law school days handy, so this one will have to be representative of those memories.

9. Watching Thomas play softball in law school.  Anyone who knows Thomas knows that he is a phenomenal athlete. He was highly sought after for intramural teams, but his crowing moment was probably a softball tournament our first year. Just about every team wanted him to play for them and he ended up being on a bunch of teams (the next year the law school Sports Czar limited a person to 2-teams, possibly in response to this).  He hit home-run after home-run and I was so impressed! I can remember a roommate saying "your boyfriend is ridiculously athletic" (although, as I am rereading this, I am thinking maybe that comment was made after seeing him play football).  It was so fun to watch him play and I felt proud to be attached to him.  Bonus memory: to balance out the shallowness of the "my boyfriend is a good-looking athlete" memory, there was also a "smart" moment that year. One of our professors asked a question and then commented that in all of his years of teaching, no one had ever given the correct response. A few people raised their hands, but were incorrect, then he called on Thomas and shook his head in amazement after Thomas got it right! I had always liked the smart guys and felt like I had just found the smartest one of all! I think of that memory often and still feel so proud of him.

8. Jersey Boys. Thomas and I have always enjoyed seeing plays. Our first was Les Miserables, which we saw when we were still in law school.  Since then, we have seen many more traveling Broadways shows. When we lived in Tennessee, I saw a show called Jersey Boys was coming to Memphis. The seats available were over $100 each and Thomas and I debated on whether or not we should spend the money. We bit the bullet and bought the tickets. When the night of the show arrived, we went out to dinner before heading to the awesome Orpheum Theater.  The Orpheum was built in the 1920s and is everything a theater should be, very ornate and beautiful and the perfect setting for a good show. It turned out that our seats were in a "special section".  We handed our tickets to the usher and he led us up to the very front of the auditorium where there were two rows of folding chairs right in front of the stage.  Our seats were last minute add-on seats, meaning the theater released them when the other tickets were sold.  We were so close to the stage that we could see the beads of sweat on the actor's faces.  It was amazing and became our favorite show. We still talk about those seats. I don't know how we didn't realize what we were getting, but we didn't and it was an awesome surprise. It did, however, ruin us for all future shows.  We have seen Jersey Boys and other shows since then, but have been unable to replicate the experience. We also put the soundtrack on our iPod and it became the track I ran to for the time we lived in Memphis, always evoking the fun memory of that night.

See those chairs in front?  That was us.

7. I think we're on the road here in Little Rock. This one is another trip and also took place when we lived in Tennessee. My good friend Marta offered to visit and watch the kids for a weekend so Thomas and I could enjoy our first getaway since they were born. We gladly accepted her offer and started looking for locations within a 3-hour radius (our comfort level for leaving the kids at the time).  Ultimately, we settled on Little Rock, Arkansas. Neither of us had ever been to Arkansas, so it seemed like a good adventure. We left with no set plans and only a reservation for two nights at The Empress Bed and Breakfast.  We grabbed some fliers when we arrived and made plans. We went to a restaurant recommended by The Empresses proprietor and booked a picnic lunch to enjoy at the mill where they filmed a scene from Gone with the Wind (it was stunning). We saw the Clinton Presidential Library and took a horse drawn moonlight ride past the Governor's Mansion. We also saw the headquarters for the Heifer Society, which became our favorite charity.  It was so fun to choose a city and just explore for a couple of days.  But, most of all, we reconnected after a stressful few years that had brought us the birth of 3 children in 16 months, the death of my mother, and a cross-country move, among other stressors.

Online photo of The Empress

6. Our trip to New Hampshire between OIS and NJS. We considered it a trip for our first anniversary, although we had to do it in October. We stayed at an amazing bed and breakfast, The Hartness House. They served the most amazing dinner and breakfast I've ever had. We took a train ride, looked at covered bridges and enjoyed the changing leaves and each other's company. It was beautiful. 

5. Thomas teaches me to play catch.  I think this one took place when we were engaged, but not yet married.  We had gone to Florida to visit my family and somehow decided it was a good time for me to learn to catch a ball properly.  So, we bought a softball glove and went to the field adjacent to my former middle school.  He showed me how to hold a glove depending on where the ball was and how to throw with proper form. It was a fun time. Up until the kids were born, we would regularly go to a park and play catch.  Another good memory (similar enough that I am going to let it share the number 5 spot) is playing football together. We had a soft nerf ball and we would pretend we were playing against a team. We would have 4 or 5 "downs" to move the ball down the field ("okay, this time you're going to run out for 10 steps, fake left, then turn and go right 5 steps and watch for the ball"). We didn't have much money as struggling students, so times like these were perfect. We relieved a lot of stress, got some exercise, and enjoyed being outdoors together.

4. The Detroit All-Star Game.  I think I've actually written about this before. It was a trip I planned for Thomas' 30 birthday. We lucked out with timing: the Tigers, Thomas' favorite baseball team, were hosting the All-Star Game. It was our first big (i.e. take a plane) vacation that didn't involve visiting family. I think we only stayed for 3 or 4 days.  But, we had so much fun! We stayed at the Pontchartrain hotel, which was right in the heart of the city (and we could see Canada across the river). We had a blast at the Fan Fest, loved the home run derby, watched a celebrity softball game, and, of course, saw the actual All-Star Game. We also spent a lot of time walking around Detroit, visited the GM Headquarters (and had the best-ever salad in their basement cafeteria) and even checked out what a casino outside Thomas' home state looked like (not impressive). It was a fun trip and I loved every second of it!

3. Studying for the bar exam.  How can studying for an exam be a highlight you might ask?  Well, it represents a fairly care-free time in our lives, although definitely a stressful one. After graduating from law school, we drove to Nevada to live with Thomas' Grandmother for 2 months before we flew to Florida to take the bar exam.  During that time, our sole job was to study and prepare physically for Officer Indoctrination School (OIS). We spent a couple of hours each day exercising and a couple of hours studying (I studied a lot harder than Thomas who had a strategy that involved doing really well on one section so that the other section was irrelevant). I am not sure if I thought it was fun at the time, but I think I did. I loved Thomas' grandmother and being in Nevada with her. The only sour note was her mean dog that constantly growled at me, but he was not mean enough to keep this memory out of my top 3.

2. Our recent cruise. We recently spent 5 nights away from our children.  We did so on a cruise with no television, phones (well, we called and texted the kids, but no one else) or other distractions. There are a few blogs detailing the vacation, so I won't get too descriptive. The short is that I always know that I love Thomas. There is no doubt in my mind that he is the man I want to be with forever and always. However, sometimes we get bogged down in the routine of our role as parents and don't focus on each other the way we once did. This cruise was the perfect opportunity to just enjoy each other. We had fun times, romantic times, quiet times. We experienced it all and I can't wait for our next getaway!

1. Our first date. Thomas and I became good friends almost immediately after we met. We connected instantly. But, we had both recently had our hearts broken and were holding out hope for those prior relationships (at least that's what we were telling each other). Obviously, I found him attractive and interesting and I liked him a lot. But, I constantly reminded myself that he was unavailable. Anyway, I had volunteered to take a friend to the airport in DC, which was about a 3 hour drive.  I asked Thomas and his roommate if they wanted to come along and maybe check out one of the Smithsonian museums. His roommate decided to just take the ride to DC and meet up with some college buddies. So, we dropped my friend and his roommate off and headed for the museums. I know we went to the National Art Museum, and I think we also visited American History.  But, what I remember most is how I felt that day. I know this is cliche, but it really felt as if I had known him for years. We had such an easy connection. We joked and smiled and talked and I can recall thinking to myself how odd it all was, we weren't technically on a date, but it felt like we were meant to be together. We spent over 12 hours together that day and never ran out of things to say or felt awkward. It was definitely the beginning of our real relationship and showed me how insignificant those prior relationships really were.

Honorable Mentions: Because it is our 12 year anniversary, I am going to share two more memories (one memory for each year of marriage):

11. Norfolk lunches. When we lived in Norfolk, we both had high-tempo jobs. Plus, we had 3 kids under 18 months old. There was not a lot of free time. To make up for it, we would periodically meet for lunch. We were stationed in two different locations, so we would meet at either a Chick-Fil-A or a Mongolian Barbecue place. I loved seeing him in the middle of my day and it was so nice to talk uninterrupted. Those lunches are happy memories.

12. Meteor Shower. Another memory from when our relationship was new. We got up super early (or, knowing Thomas, he probably just stayed up) and drove into the darkness of the mountains to see a meteor shower. We laid on the hood of my car and watched the amazing night-time display. When it was over, I dropped him back off at school.  Then, I drove to DC to catch a train to visit my sister for Thanksgiving. But, I missed Thomas so much that I left her house early to join him back in Lexington and we had our first Thanksgiving together (t.v dinners from Walmart I believe).

And, for Thomas' information, here are the others that were considered, but did not make the list.  I'm guessing a couple of these might have cracked his top 10.  So, in no particular order :

-Savannah Trip

-Charlottesville B&B 

-Orioles Game

-Opening the Christmas gift of 366 things he loves about me

-Our Wedding

-Weekend in Williamsburg

-Making thumbprint cookies in Eleanor's basement

-When we prepared for his OGC interview via phone on the 16 hour drive
-Utah/Nevada trip
-Honeymoon
-Spring Training
-Palo dinner on Disney Cruise
-skipping rocks and getting socked in the stomach (those two just go together)

My predictions:
Thomas' blog will definitely include Detroit and Vermont. I wouldn't be surprised to see our first house and the trip to Charlottesville. Beyond that, I really have no idea. I expect there will be some overlap, but I am excited to see what he has come up with.  Happy Anniversary T-Dub!