Five

(Picture by Sean Hsueh with Day 7 Photography)

I am extraordinarily late on this, but I think for this post it is actually appropriate. One of the things I’ve really enjoyed from being married to TJ is that we create our own traditions to reflect not just us, but also that we have an unique relationship. When and how we celebrate things is entirely up to us. It is our day after all. So to give you a better insight into our quirkiness, here are five memorable and random moments from the last five years of our marriage that I believe really define our relationship:

Manentine’s Day

Truthfully this is more a testimony of TJ’s awesomeness than anything else, but while we were dating TJ opted to turn Valentine’s Day, a rather traditional girl focused holidy, into a day for me. So there are no expectations for me to bring flowers, book a reservation or shower TJ with gifts. Instead there will be a steak for me on the table and some sort of practical gift that I’ve been dying to have (Kindle cover, electric shaver, extension cord, etc). Which brings me to my next moment…

Hotel Amenities

A frequent request of mine for a Christmas gift is simply a package of good toilet paper or paper towels. I really, really, really like practical gifts like that. Occasionally TJ will travel by herself or she gets sent on a night away and she will always remember and bring back a roll of toilet paper for me and if the hotel has it, a couple of travel sized toothpaste of my favorite brand: Aquafresh. It is silly, but I am like a child on Christmas morning when she pulls those guys out of her luggage. Speaking of travel…

Food Above All

A few years ago, we celebrated our second year anniversary in San Fransisco. We only had  a couple of days as we had a wedding to be a part of, so we did our best to cram as much in as possible. When we tell people of that trip, people frequently ask if we saw the Golden Gate Bridge and/or Alcatraz. The answer is “yes”, but it may not be how you imagine it. We did technically “see” them, but only while we were standing at Fisherman’s Wharf with a Dungeness crab in each of our hands and we enjoyed the view of the two iconic sights. Whenever we travel, food is Tier 1 in our priorities. If we don’t get to eat, we are not happy. While we are on the happiness note…

The Goal Celebration

One of my favorite things to do with TJ is play soccer. We play on the same co-ed team every Saturday. I generally am not ashamed to celebrate my wife at the expense of my public image. Last Fall, TJ scored a technically difficult goal and while she tried acting like she had scored before, her overly zealous husband did not. I sprinted some 40 yards, screaming at the top of my lungs,”THAT’S MY WIFE!!! THAT’S MY WIFE!!!” Then of course, I recreate one of those absurd movie like embrace where the man lifts his woman in the air. You know, something you’d find in a Nicholas Sparks’ novel (A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, Dear John, The Lucky One, etc.) My teammates were (rightfully) a little embarrassed by my celebration but I don’t care. I’m a dork and I like to celebrate… and that brings us to our last moment…

Biscuit Day

Sometime after our second year together, TJ started asking me, “How many biscuits do you love me?” To this day, we have no earthly idea why she started that or what it means, but my response started at “two”, to signify the number of years we’ve been married. So today, if she were to ask me how many biscuits, I would answer “five”. So naturally our anniversary is now known to us and our close friends as “Biscuit Day” and on the morning of “Biscuit Day” we eat biscuits!

As I was writing this, I had to stop several times and just laugh at our relationship and how odd we are. And honestly, I think that’s one of the reasons that makes our marriage great. We can look back and just laugh at ourselves. I love that I can share in all these things with my wife and best friend. Happy Biscuit Day.