My 10 year wedding anniversary is coming up. We’ll probably celebrate it with a long weekend away, possibly in the Hudson Valley in New York. I was hoping for diamonds, or somewhere tropical, but we’re trying to be conservative with our money. Anniversaries to me are meant to be shared between the couple. It’s our event and I don’t expect cards, gifts or really any acknowledgement from anyone other than my husband. And, when it’s our 25th anniversary, I won’t expect anything from our kids.
My mother-in-law expects that her anniversary be marked by her son. Of course. When it was her and my father-in-law’s 15th anniversary (nearly 10 years ago), my husband 1) forgot it, 2) didn’t realize what anniversary it was, and 3) was too pre-occupied with his brand-new bride. But she made him pay. How dare he forget their 15th wedding anniversary. It so happened to be around the time we were putting together our wedding album. She wanted a parents album, offered to pay for it too. But when my husband made that colossal mistake, she decided the album would make a nice anniversary gift…a $400 gift. My FIL knew nothing about this and I had to bite my lip to keep from saying, “Happy Anniversary!” when she opened it. I didn’t know better. I was young then. My husband will never forget another one of their anniversaries again though.
So, I’m sure for some selfish reason, she feels the need to take us out to dinner to celebrate our milestone anniversary. Yes, I seem ungrateful. My husband says, “What’s the big deal? It’s our favorite restaurant. And she’s paying.” I’m sure it will be fine. It’s just that she usually has an ulterior motive. She has a way of twisting situations to seem like she’s being the good person. Plus, any time I spend with her is too much time.
My therapy session. 