I want to thank all of my readers here and all of my Facebook friends who reached out to wish Sam and me a Happy Anniversary. It truly was a great day. I thought I would share a recap with you.

I worked Friday night, so I got home early Saturday morning. I brought home a dozen roses for Sam. She was still in bed when I got home, so I trimmed the stems and put them in water and left them on the counter.

When everyone was up, we got breakfast started and everyone ate. She had Ella bring me my gift from Sam. I handed Ella a card to give to Sam….and she opened it before Sam could!

Sam got me/us a very cool couples book. It is such a neat idea. Within the pages are “dates” that are hidden by a covering, similar to the way an instant lottery ticket covers numbers. Above the date is an approximate cost of the “date”, the best time of day to do it, and about how long it will take. Once you scratch off the date…you have to do it! Then you document the adventure and put a picture of it in the book.

I’m not sure how many adventures/dates are in the book, but we are looking forward to finding time to do them and enjoy each other’s company. There are more books in this series. Maybe we’ll get more.

I don’t remember how long ago she mentioned it, but Sam had said she wanted to get an electric kettle. I decided that would be a good anniversary present to go along with my date plans. It’s actually really neat. It reminds me of my old percolator. She hasn’t had a chance to use it yet, but I’m sure she will this week.

I had seen some “mom” rings just after Ella was born. I wanted to buy Sam one back then, but wondered if we were going to have anymore children, so I held off. Well, now that we have decided that we are done having kids, I wanted to get her one of those rings.

I loved the design of it. It has the two birth stones in the center and a place for the child’s name next to their stone. You could also include a message on the inside of the ring. For that, I simply chose “I love you.”

After sleeping for a few hours, I woke up to get ready for the date day I had planned. I called my friend Margaret and she came over to watch the kids. They love Aunt Margaret so much.

I’m gonna veer off here for a brief moment. I had really hoped to keep my plans a secret, but Sam doesn’t like surprises. She began asking questions a few days before our anniversary. She eventually got out the cities we were heading and that was it. She knew I planned a dinner, but had no idea of what we were doing beforehand.

As I said before, she has been extra stressed. I decided I would pamper her a bit and made an appointment for a couples massage. I was pretty excited about this. I figured she’d never guess. Technically, she didn’t.

In finalizing plans with Margaret, I told her my plans. She said, “Make sure you tell her to shave her legs. If my husband took me for a massage and I hadn’t shaved my legs, I’d be embarrassed.” Once I told her she should have her legs, the guessing began. “Oh, you’re taking me for a pedicure?”, She asked. I simply responded with “Maybe.”

Then she threw the wrench into the works by saying, “I hope it isn’t a massage, because I don’t like the idea of being touched.”. My face must have really let the cat out of the bag. I had made a deposit and thought she would be excited. I didn’t really think about her not wanting one.

She apologized and said she would go. She was very nervous about it. She had told me that the kids (and me) are always touching her, so the last thing she wanted was someone else touching her. As we pulled into the place, I couldn’t help but think of how nervous she might be.

We had two very nice gals as our massage therapists. We walked in to a quiet room where the massage tables were. There was calm music playing. We were told to strip down to where we were comfortable and then climb into the tables and get under the sheets.

I had not had a massage in years. It was very relaxing. Sam’s therapist knew she had never had a massage, so she was very careful and always made sure she felt comfortable. I was glad.

I joked with my therapist saying she has drawn the short straw and had to deal with my back hair! She chuckled and said she had seen people with way more back hair than me! At one point my nose got so stuffed up, I had to start breathing out of my mouth. Although I probably could have, I didn’t fall asleep. I must have sounded like I did, because Sam asked if I was sleeping.

I must have had more stress than I thought, because there were times she was massaging my back and it hurt. Once she worked that spot a bit, the pain went away. I really felt relaxed afterwards. She might have been lying to make me feel better, but Sam said she enjoyed her massage, too.

Our dinner reservations were set for 6:30 that night, and we arrived about a half hour early. We decided to go in, and they were able to get us right to a table. We went to the Redwood Steakhouse and Brewery. I’d been there a couple times with country artists when they came through town and enjoyed it.

It has a very rustic feel to it, you know, with the deer antler chandeliers and such. I knew it was going to be a bit more expensive than the steakhouse we normally go to, but that was ok. I could have taken her where we always go, but for our anniversary I wanted to do something different.

I couldn’t decide whether to get steak or ribs. I always end up talking myself into a filet mignon, which I ordered, despite the cost of beef these days. It was absolutely delicious. I was disappointed that they didn’t have a baked potato, but mashed potatoes were ok. Sam opted for fish and chips, which was equally delicious.

I haven’t has a real beer in probably a year, but knowing that they brewed their own I had to order one. The brew I chose was similar to a Killian’s. It was very good. If I drank beer more, I would have grabbed a growler of it to bring home.

We were both pretty stuffed after dinner, but Sam had her eye on a piece of New York Cheesecake, so we made sure to get a piece to bring home. We both got to enjoy it later that evening.

Having a special day with my wife was just what we both needed. It was nice to have time together without a baby or toddler needing our immediate attention. Holding hands and talking at dinner shouldn’t have been such a big deal, but it was. It was perfect.

You know what’s funny? As a parent, you can’t wait to have some time away from your kids, so that you can enjoy being a couple for a bit. However, you can’t help but wonder how they are doing while you are away, and are extra glad to see them when you get back home!