Last month many of us celebrated Valentine’s Day but, as a strong, independent, vote casting, free thinking woman I abhor the day – although if hubby hadn’t sent me a card his life wouldn’t have been worth living! We don’t actually ‘do’ Valentines – flowers are expensive and restaurants overcrowded, with dewy eyed couples linking arms and spilling cheap cava. Past Valentines ‘presents’ have included an iron and a tumble dryer (not on the same year coz that would be spoiling me); both items are useful gifts and gratefully received, and just so happened to be purchased in early February, therefore usurping the need for a Valentine! I am not saying we are unromantic as a couple – he will tell you he has bought me flowers five times (two child births, one welcome home, one spur of the moment and one Groupon voucher last Christmas) – while I maintain it is four (for ‘spur of the moment’ replace ‘thrusting a fiver at a market stallholder once I have said I’ll just get some daffs for the kitchen’) but if I got flowers every week they wouldn’t be special.
The one thing we do celebrate every year is our wedding anniversary. November 22nd 1996. A great day! We got married at the local golf club, hubby was never without a beer in his hand and we were the last to leave the party that night. We had friends, booze and sausage rolls at the local pub the next day and on the Sunday battled our way through three feet of snow to spend six days in the Lake District – it should have been longer but we ran out of money. And all this only 11 months after we had met! Many thought it wouldn’t last and many more disapproved of the speed of the union. We were fairly certain we would be alright but decided to be sensible and give ourselves five years. When we got to five years we had just had our first child, so we decided to battle on. Eighteen years later we are still going strong. We have had some lovely anniversary weekends away and enjoyed some excellent restaurants. We can sit over a bottle of wine for two or three hours and never run out of things to talk about. We have mutual friends and separate friends, independent interests and combined ones. So the key to romance, love and longevity is not once a year and the exploitation of both wallet and soul; it is embracing the arrival of a tumble dryer – no man has ever invested in a domestic machine that he will have to use himself any time soon. x