Milestones

Yesterday was a very happy day in my life, my Baskin-Robbins wedding anniversary. Yes, I’m addicted to ice cream, but that’s not why I called it that. It was number 31!

My husband and I went to a new shopping center in the Glendale, California, called Americana at Brand, where we ate at a restaurant called Granville. The food was good and the ambiance was even better, partly thanks to our very attentive waiter. The fact that I drank a beer called Bison Chocolate Stout, and that our waiter, on hearing it was our anniversary, brought us a really decadent piece of chocolate cake--even called evil on the menu--made it really memorable, a great place to celebrate. I didn’t even mind that my husband watched part of the Lakers’ basketball game on a television mounted on the wall behind me.

It’s fun thinking about milestones like our anniversary and sharing them with family. Especially now, when our older son’s wedding will be in a few months. Yep, I’m going to become a mother-in-law. What a scary thought!

Our son is marrying a very sweet and lovely young woman. I knew I was going to care for her when I saw how great she was with our dogs!

I’ve been thinking about the advice I can give them, how to help them through the hard times that inevitably come. I’d love to think that everything will be smooth sailing for them, but no matter how wonderful a relationship is, life tends to toss roadblocks into it, usually unanticipated.

Plus, love changes and grows and matures--hopefully. My wish for them is that what they’re feeling for each other today will provide the basis for even more wonderful emotional connections to come.

I guess the best advice I have for them is to focus on that love. Try to be caring and patient with one another. I’m lucky enough to have a husband who lets me seethe and scream at life’s inequities, and even hint, at times, that he may have something to do with my irritation, but he’s still there for me--despite the occasional dirty look. There were some sticking points between us that I once considered huge, but over time they lost at least some of the edges.

Plus, we both got into this marriage as a partnership in many ways. Some of the time he was chief breadwinner. Other times, I was. We encouraged each other to take chances, to change and follow our dreams. We’re also tolerant of each other’s not-so-wonderful habits.

I think our relationship one of the main reasons I’ve been able to write romance novels, and mysteries with romantic elements. I mention him in nearly all the dedications in my books. Didn’t do it once, and I was asked if there was something wrong between us!

What’s your favorite bit of advice I can pass along to the happy couple? (Humorous is best!)

--Linda