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Today I’m “celebrating” 11 years of marriage to that guy in the picture up there!  I’m celebrating while at a blogging conference in Cincinnati…1,000 miles away from my husband!

Through the years we’ve had some interesting and memorable anniversaries, but not in the traditional sense:

• On our first anniversary, we closed on a new house and were busy moving
• On our second anniversary, my daughter was only a few weeks old and we were heading to Nashville for my brother’s wedding

The list kind of goes on from there…

Our third anniversary is probably one of my favorite stories.  We sold and moved out of our house literally on our anniversary.  We had a hotel room reserved for that night.  By the time we got there to check in, it was very late, and there was only one room left.  We quickly realized that the bed was broken (there were missing slats underneath, so it slanted downward and you couldn’t even lay down on it without sliding off).  The only other thing they had available was a conference room with a small double bed that pulled down from the wall.  My husband is 6’6″ and we had our one year old daughter with us as well.  The 3 of us crammed into that small bed, and I don’t think any of us got much sleep.  At 6 am, the hotel staff woke us up to clear us out for a breakfast meeting that was scheduled to take place.

One year, we celebrated our anniversary with a picnic on the family room floor, kids included.  Several times, our anniversary has fallen in the middle of a family vacation.  A few times, we have managed to sneak away for a night out without kids, but those times have been few and far between.

In a way, I kinda sorta think that “anniversaries” are a bit over-rated.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m grateful for every one of these 11 years and for the two children who have joined our family during that time.  I just think that it’s the “little” things that take place on a daily basis that are worth celebrating whether than that date that comes along one day a year like…

• My husband knows me well enough to know that I often get migraines when I travel and snuck some migraine meds in my suitcase when I totally would have forgotten
• He knows what my favorite kind of chocolate is and knows just when I need it (and somehow also instinctively knows when I need a Diet Coke fix, too)
• He knows that I don’t do “blood” and deals with all of the casualties in our house ranging from cuts and scrapes to loose teeth (he deals with lizards and frogs, too, which I’m equally afraid of)
• In 11 years of marriage, I have NEVER had to change sheets on our bed because that’s his “thing” and he’s great at laundry and vacuuming, too!
• He supports me in my “hobbies” and I know that while I’m 1,000 miles away, my kids are in good hands

Those are just a few of the everyday things I’m celebrating today from 1,000 miles away.

Do you have “traditional” anniversary celebrations?  What are some of your most memorable anniversary experiences?