Serenity and Anniversaries

On Monday I celebrated my 34th wedding anniversary, usually unless it falls on a weekend we celebrate it separately since we are rarely in the same place.  This year my husband took the day off to celebrate with me.  But unfortunately fates were against us and on Saturday he came down with a awful head-cold.

So the question of the day - how to maintain an aura of serenity when life disappoints you?

The answer - you go with the flow.  Instead of spending the day wandering around town and local museums with dinner at restaurant in town, we spent the day relaxing at home, a quick shopping trip at a local warehouse store and went out for dinner at a local sushi place.  When you're married for 34 years you learn to just go with the flow, sometimes.

Over the past couple of years I have changed my thinking about anniversaries.  For a long time I kept hoping that I would be surprised and that I would be swept off my feet with some large romantic gesture, but that isn't what marriage is really about, that's what dating is about.  Marriage is commitment, give and take, arguments, misunderstandings, forgiveness and respect.  Love is always a part of it but over-the-top romance is not always a necessity.

I read a lot of romance novels and each one is over-the-top filled with romantic situations and they are wonderful to read, but I often wonder if these books are written by people who are looking for romance in the wrong places.

If the person you married was once upon a time very romantic when you dated, why shouldn't things change.  Would you really want it to stay the same as when you were dating?

So the answer to the question how to maintain serenity when life disappoints - the best way is to acknowledge the disappointment, take a deep breath, realize that change happens and that life moves forward.

Romance isn't dead, it's simply different, it's under the surface and shown in small ways by husbands and wives or partners.  I find my serenity in this knowledge and by accepting it there is no disappointment.

Move on, Move forward, Find Serenity!