Life of Wry

It turns out, one’s 20th anniversary is celebrated with platinum (traditional) or china (modern).

Jim went traditional. Tradition in this case refers both to the material and to the act of making something. And in accordance with tradition, Jim made a thing and he made it with platinum.

Okay… here goes: this metal container thingie is a part harvested from a computer. I believe in its original life, it protected a computer chip of some sort. It now houses a tiny 1-gram sheet of platinum, issued by a particular bank, and a sentiment economically and directly conveyed, as is Jim’s style. I may be the only person on the planet who owns such a thing. And it will join the other hand-crafted tokens that Jim’s made for me over the years, a shelf full of such marital benchmarks, an altar of sentimental treasures.

I love it, and I love him.

I–not quite as hand-crafty–made (sorta) something out of china (figuring that going to China was out of the question right now… though I spent some time thinking about how we could justify such a trip while Peter’s in college…). I found an online site that puts your photo images on every imaginable thing (Zazzle), even china plates, and did this:

It’s a meaningful photo because, one, we’re doing something we love doing together–hiking in Yosemite–and, two, Peter took the picture and it’s pretty good of both of us. It’s about 10-11″ in diameter. I think it’d be cool to serve nuts on a plate like this. Lots of them. Ha ha.

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Now.. on to the more significant aspect of the anniversary… twenty years. What I love about this juncture in time, is that Peter’s whole trajectory–from Jim’s and my conversation about whether to have a kid, to launching said kid–takes place within the confines of our 20-year marriage. We’d tried to decide before we got married. Couldn’t, despite six-months of counseling focused on that issue alone, despite countless conversations with friends–both parents and non-parents. We just remained on the fence. Having kids or not having kids wasn’t a deal breaker, we were just both uncertain, we were already 40 and 43, we had successful professions, we had active social lives and prospects for flexibility and travel and who knows what. We also thought maybe a family was a good idea. Unable to conclusively decide, though, wow, we covered a lot of ground in our deliberations, we put the issue aside and got married. Soon after, however, we turned a corner on the matter and in a flash of inspiration decided that yes, we’d try to have a kid.

And pretty much, that has shaped and defined our married life, to date. Pregnancy, Peter through the ages, and, days before our 20th anniversary, Peter’s launch, his departure from the only nest he’s ever known.  Our entire marriage has included Peter. Peter’s now in college and we, too, are starting a new life, of sorts.

It’s cause for reflection and celebration! Amiright?

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So… in that regard..

Our schedule has been so dependent lately on events and circumstances largely out of our hands… it has made arranging an anniversary get-away challenging. We’d intended to observe our anniversary in combination with our new found status as empty nesters in a celebratory/reflective way, staring at rolling waves in the distance while nestled into our favorite, crafty Dillon Beach cabin; walking on the dramatic wind-swept shoreline; playing Scrabble by the fire; toasting our good lives over iced tea and wine while dining on our favorite foods prepared in a charming, well-equipped kitchen; OD’ing on movies, Perquacky, expansive, jaw-dropping views and the smell of lilies.

And we will…. just not sure when.

In the meantime, we went to Mulvaney’s on 19th in Sacramento. Truly a culinary event (their tagline is hand-crafted new American cuisine and they use words like locavore to describe their genre).

And for sure it was great..

Best of show was this item:

Ray Yeung’s Farm Heirloom Tomato & Hand Pulled Mozzarella                     $16

                 Basil ~ Capay Olive Oil ~ Balsamic ~ Maldon Salt

We also had a cheese plate with their homemade crackers, a pappardelle with the last of the summer vegetables, an insanely tender chicken smoked out on the patio, and this pear trifle:

That pear trifle was among the most delectable things ever… different than most desserts we tend to order. Cubes of sour cream pound cake soaked in, I think, riesling, mascarpone pear cream, fresh pear, and that leathery sheet of pear on top… for a number of different textures and flavors, in a tiny package. Honestly. Yeow.

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Parting shot:  here’s what Jim posted on Facebook:

With the comment:

The couple that Crocs together, rocks together.