Bring out the good china!

Today is my wedding anniversary! It's so hard to believe that it has already been two years since Shane and I were married. It seems like yesterday when he got down on his knee and asked me to marry him... and then I ran around the house screaming without even saying yes! Tonight there will be a celebration!
When someone we love is engaged, pregnant, starting a new job or moving into a new home, we all become astute advisers ready to voice our opinions on what to do and how to do it right! When I was engaged I heard lots of advice: "You need to be engaged for a year to enjoy it", "A year is too long, make it shorter". And so forth, and so forth, down to every detail of the wedding to the gender roles in a marriage.
There was one piece of advice that I heard over and over again, at every shower and party I attended: "Use your good china! Bring it out for every celebration! Be sure to celebrate the little things!" I can't tell you why these words stuck with me like they did. Perhaps it was the amount of times I heard it. Or maybe it was the fact that the majority of these ladies were older than me by far. I couldn't help to note that some were already widowed for years. They knew the phases of love far better than I could, having not even taking my vows yet. They weren't telling me to do anything but to use my good china to celebrate! I can't help to think there was something else to these words of advice that went unsaid. Surely there was an undertone of "life is short".
Is eating off your good china every once in a while the key to a happy marriage? Maybe not, but it sure helps! Life is sweeter when we celebrate. Big or small, celebrate and give thanks for the good things in your life!
This week focus on what you can celebrate. Is is it a work project that is finally completed? A milestone in recovering from a bad habit? A bank error in your favor (even if it is 25 cents!)? Your dog's third birthday? The first sounds you have heard from your baby? A par on a tough golf course? Or that the fires are starting to be contained in California? Whatever you are excited about - celebrate it! Don't let the happy times pass by without acknowledgement! I don't have a clue what we are having for dinner tonight... maybe even Chinese take out! But, I can guarantee you it will be on the fine china!

"Celebrate we will,

For life is short

but sweet for certain."

Dave Mathews