Monday, October 10, 2011

(Ten and) One-Year Anniversary

Today is our one-year anniversary. 

Cheers!
One year plus the 10 years we were together before we got married, that is!  You know, I think this is a great opportunity for me to say to everyone who told us that things would feel different after we got married.... you were wrong.  Thanks for the advice, though!  It feels exactly the same.  That's because commitment and what constitutes a family lies within your heart, thoughts, emotions and actions.  Not in a piece of paper, a ceremony, a few words or any other pomp and circumstance.  Well, I guess commitment does lie within a ceremony if that's what you choose.  We give things meaning and power in our lives.  A wedding ceremony doesn't carry any power until someone decides it does.  For us, it held no power.  It was a great reason to get all of our friends and family together at the same place and time, though!  Which is the wonderful thing about weddings in my opinion.  When else does that happen in life on such a grand scale?  I love weddings for that reason.

The decision to go on a trip somewhere for our one-year anniversary was an obvious one.  I constantly have the urge to travel.  I'm a bit of a wanderlust, if you will.  Luckily, Andrew enjoys me dragging him all over the globe.  He enjoys it so much, a dragging doesn't even actually occur!

No
Yes

At first I wanted to go back to Europe to catch some things we missed. Okay, we missed lots of things on our trip last year so I'll be more specific.  I was thinking Switzerland, Southern Germany, or Ireland.  Unfortunately, however, trips to Europe are expensive.  And while we can swing the expense,  do we really want to?  What else will we have to give up in order to do that?  Do we really want to see our savings account dwindle so soon after the big trip we took last year?  Are politicians honest?  The answer is no, folks.

So I was thinking maybe something on this continent.  Boring, I know!  First thought was some place we've never been and one city that came to mind was Montreal.  I loved Paris so much, to get another little taste of it, even if only by imitation, would be wonderful.  My second thought was New York.  I am dying to see Book of Mormon and I'm sure Andrew would enjoy Spiderman.  Besides, I always love New York.  I've gotten so familiar with the neighborhoods and subways, I don't feel like a traveler when I'm there anymore.  It's like visiting an old friend!  The last thing we considered was Disney World.  Exciting, yes, but there is no way to avoid big expenses with a trip like that.  So I wasn't setting my heart on that one.

Upon pricing out all those options, it got to be a little more than I wanted to spend.  Even with hotel discounts (we have points and gift cards) and 1 free flight we've earned on Southwest!  Not to mention that every seat is sold out for Book of Mormon for as long as shows are scheduled.  The resale value on middle-man vendor sites?  $700 for orchestra seats.  $250 for nose-bleeds.  Booo!

So this brought us to the decision to get the most bang for our buck in lovely Vancouver!

OOOOH!

AHHHH!

(Not my photographs above, which is obvious from the fine quality.)  I have plenty to tell about our trip and a few pics to share but I will have to do so on another day.  I have laundry, grocery shopping and sewing to do.  Holy crap, I guess marriage does change people!  No, wait.  I did all those things before marriage.  Never mind.  Phew!