The Writer’s Journal: One Year Anniversary

Hello Darling,

I simply cannot believe my one year anniversary is just a week away.

-S.O.S. - Send good vibes and easy DIY activities for an anniversary at home.

The Hallowedding is still the talk of our family and friends, even more so with the 31st quickly approaching. We’re constantly told of how much fun everyone had and had it not been for the pandemic, we would have had great plans for celebrating again this year. I fuss over my outfits, the photos and really get critical of the “lack of” or the regret I feel for some things but ultimately, hearing how much fun everyone had makes me feel better. We all got to enjoy the celebration and that was our focus - making our guests comfortable & giving them a night to remember!

We even received a One Year Anniversary gift, which I have to admit was the most touching thing our friends could do. It was the most thoughtful gift, a custom made painting of two ghouls (Bride and Groom) with our anniversary and our names. Frist Year Anniversary gifts from friends is now my new must do thing on my list of gift ideas because this honestly made me cry. Once the magic (stress) of the wedding is over, we often feel like that moment is put on the back burner or has faded and been forgotten by our friends/family, which is understandable when we all deal with our own lives but this - to take a moment to not only send a card but a custom gift-tears ya’ll, I was in tears.

2020 has certainly brought it’s challenges, we’ve been through a lot of lows while keeping a positive attitude but time has flown by for us. Honestly, it doesn’t feel like a “honeymoon” phase/year, it feels like a grind year, which is why that gift hit me so hard. My husband and I have been working together as a team to tackle our financial scares (temporary closure of our business earlier in the year because of the mass shutdowns of non-essential businesses) and our various health challenges. I am thankful I have my husband’s support through these trying times and I can’t imagine how we would have gotten through this any other way than together.

Aside from the COVID-19 precautions we’ve been factoring in, the thing that is haunting our Halloween Anniversary the most is the fact we’ll be in quarantine because of my husband’s up-coming hip replacement surgery.

He goes into surgery early November, which means that the romantic plans of a weekend getaway were off the table. We had all these great plans in motion earlier this year before COVID-19 shutdown the world. Plans like to do a weekend getaway to a resort, theme park or take a miniature vacation to somewhere new —like a road trip to Salem, Massachusetts or Halloween at Disney but now, the plans consist of a Halloween movie binge and bed by 9p.

it has been incredibly hard to plan when our focus has been so heavily on work and prepping for his surgeries (Yes, multiple! He has the second hip replaced before the end of the year). It’s hard for me to side step my anxiety to get excited but I take every mile stone to heart and try to really celebrate a moment in life that only happens once. Not everyone takes these moments seriously, but I do. I cherish this time because it is never guaranteed and we’re lucky to have the hours, the minutes, the seconds, together. It’s been weighing on me a lot, the dreaded inevitable guilt that I haven’t planned the “perfect” weekend home but I still have a week to turn this BIG day into something magical!

So, here is an early cheers to good health, speedy recoveries, many years of happiness and prosperity!

Until Next Time,

M.E.