Happy Anniversary

This past week Jan and I celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary. For the most part this celebration was pretty low-key. Part of that has to do with the time of year we chose to marry. If we could have seen the future we would have changed the April 23rd date to at least into May or June.
Many of our anniversaries have been spent picking up one or more of our kids from BYU in Provo or BYU-Idaho, (formally known as Rick’s College). We’d drive all day, haul out stuff from their apartments and jam it into the car, then help clean their apartment so they could leave. Then, after a one day stay we’d take the 13 hour trip back home.
Some anniversary.
The worst anniversary we had was attending my mother’s funeral. No celebrating there.
So, this year I took Jan out to one of our favorite restaurants, Roadhouse Grill. A few weeks ago I had won a contest at work and received a $100 gift certificate to a restaurant of my choice. So I chose Roadhouse. Pretty nice, didn’t have to pay anything for the major date of the year.
Sometimes we’ll go and see a romantic movie like “The Fast and the Furious.” We really didn’t see that movie but I thought the title is fairly descriptive of many marriages...certainly not ours.
In fact, I was scanning a list of movie titles and discovered that there is secret meaning found in many. No, not the kind that gives clues on where to find historical artifacts that lead to treasure, but clues about successful marriage and family relationships. So, here’s a list of some movie titles that will help all of us be stronger in our commitments. I originally had commented at length about each of these but my editor thought I was too deep and filled with words no one would understand. Instead I’ve shortened each with a few descriptive words. Although this advice is aimed toward husbands, wife’s can flip these to apply to them. Disclaimer to wife’s: Don’t give this list to your husband with the intention of holding him hostage. Be gentle.
Here they are in a very random order:
12 Monkeys: Kids
Altered States: Go nuts whenever you see your wife
American Beauty: Need to tell her she’ beautiful no matter her nationality.
As Good as it Gets : And it can get great.
At First Sight: See her beauty even with no make-up.
A Beautiful Mind: Give her praise for her smarts.
Chicken Run: What to do when there’s an argument. Well, that’s what I do anyway.
A Civil Action: Treat her with respect
Chocolat : The peace offering
Eyes Wide Shut: Don’t see anything that she does that drives you crazy.
Fried Green Tomato’s: Never complain about a meal she’ cooked.
Girl, Interrupted: Let her finish her stories.
Heavyweights: Never, Ever go there.
Ice Age: What you’ll get if you go there (see Heavyweights)
The Music Man: A good serenade will make her swoon, even if you’ve made up the words.
The Never Ending Story: Cut your stories short and to the point
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: Wives love crazy, spontaneous moments.
Pay It Forward: Stay out of debt.
The Relic: What she’ll refer to you as to her friends if you don’t get off the couch and do something.
Schindler’s List: Never make a list of what you would like to change about her.
The Searchers: Don’t throw out anything until she’s had a chance to decide if it’s a keeper.
The Sixth Sense: Be careful because she knows more than she lets on.
The Usual Suspects: Never blame her for anything.
A Walk in the Clouds: Take her on dates no matter how long you’ve been married.
What Dreams May Come: What happens when you do all the above.