Our 5 Day 5 Year Anniversary

Todd and I have now been married for 5 years. It's so awesome to think about and we are so excited to see what the next 5 years throws at us. We've each gotten through 2 degrees, 6 moves in 3 different states, a beautiful baby boy, and then that little boy becomes diabetic and moves to the pump, half of a CPA exam, 3 busy busy busy accounting seasons, starting up a photography business and looking forward to being homeowners.

We talked yesterday on our anniversary and explained how much more we are in love with each other than we were 5 years ago. Todd used the word "care". He said "I care for you so much more." I said "I'm more invested in each of our happiness. I'm all in." It was a chat we had while he was getting ready for work, but it was deep and loving.

So during this busy season Todd has been working 75-85 hours a week, getting home around 11:30 at night. This will happen until the end of October. I wanted to be in charge of planning our anniversary this year, especially because he's swamped. I also knew that we couldn't do a huge thing; we couldn't do a cruise or even an overnight trip together. I wanted to do one little thing each day for the week leading up to our anniversary, surprise him a little each day.

I decided to focus on the 5 Love Languages. We both know each others love languages, but I wanted to touch each of them. 

Day 1

• Physical Touch

  This language isn’t all about the bedroom. A person whose primary language is Physical Touch is, not surprisingly, very touchy. Hugs, pats on the back, holding hands, and thoughtful touches on the arm, shoulder, or face—they can all be ways to show excitement, concern, care, and love. Physical presence and accessibility are crucial, while neglect or abuse can be unforgivable and destructive.

Today after Todd got home from a long day of work, I gave him a nice foot massage while he vegged on the couch (watching Jay Leno). :) I had sweet aromatherapy scents throughout the house and tried to make it a time for him to relax and relieve some stress from work.

Day 2

• Quality Time

  In the vernacular of Quality Time, nothing says, “I love you,” like full, undivided attention. Being there for this type of person is critical, but really being there—with the TV off, fork and knife down, and all chores and tasks on standby—makes your significant other feel truly special and loved. Distractions, postponed dates, or the failure to listen can be especially hurtful.

Todd got home from work and I had this date planned. I wanted to do it outside, but with West Nile mosquitoes flying around, we didn't risk it. But we set up a blanket in the living room and ate some Popsicles and had a little picnic. We just chatted about work and life and it was a sweet little date. We need to do stuff like this more often. It's not like it was hard or took a ton of thought or planning.

Day 3

• Acts of Service

  Can vacuuming the floors really be an expression of love? Absolutely! Anything you do to ease the burden of responsibilities weighing on an “Acts of Service” person will speak volumes. The words he or she most want to hear: “Let me do that for you.” Laziness, broken commitments, and making more work for them tell speakers of this language their feelings don’t matter.

This is a huge one for Todd. I woke up and made him breakfast (brown sugar muffins) and had the house all clean when he got home. I've really tried to have the house cleaner because I know how important it is for him to not feel like he has to work at home as well as work at work. After a 15 hour day, he shouldn't have to do dishes, although he would. I've got a true gentleman for a husband.

Day 4

• Receiving Gifts

  Don’t mistake this love language for materialism; the receiver of gifts thrives on the love, thoughtfulness, and effort behind the gift. If you speak this language, the perfect gift or gesture shows that you are known, you are cared for, and you are prized above whatever was sacrificed to bring the gift to you. A missed birthday, anniversary, or a hasty, thoughtless gift would be disastrous—so would the absence of everyday gestures.

I'd been planning this day for over a month. A few of my ideas fell through, but it still turned out to be fun and a great day. I befriended some of Todd's coworkers on FB because he wouldn't give me their numbers or emails for all my "other" reasons I had to need them. I messaged Brittany and asked if she could meet me at the bottom of the building Thursday morning. 

I bought Todd a really cool Groupon. He'll get to body board or try surfing at an indoor wave generator place for two 30 minute sessions. He doesn't get to fish and hunt now that we're in Texas, so he doesn't have many outlets to burn some energy. I put the print out of that in an envelope and bought him Reece's and Kit Kat's. Brittany met me and took the gift up to work. She got Lauren (another coworker) to get him away from his desk so she could secretly place it in his cube. 

He was really surprised and confused how I got it all to work out. :) And he's excited about the body boarding.

Day 5

Words of Affirmation

Actions don’t always speak louder than words. If this is your love language, unsolicited compliments mean the world to you. Hearing the words, “I love you,” are important—hearing the reasons behind that love sends your spirits skyward. Insults can leave you shattered and are not easily forgotten.

Yesterday morning we said some sweet things to each other about how much we love each other and how lucky we are to have one another. Todd got his lunch break off to take me to Perry's which is a super nice steakhouse in downtown. The food was incredible! 

He also got work off early so we could go to Tiffany and Adam's to watch the Boise State game. It's super fitting because the day before we got married we attended a Boise State game together. During halftime, I sang our wedding song to him. I cried a lot (which I knew I might but really didn't want to), but got through it. Our song is The Reggae Song by Colors. It's not very well known but it's fun and flirty and I love it.

It was an awesome week and I haven't been this happy with life in a long time. Happy Anniversary Todd! Eu te amo.