Sunday, May 30, 2010

I See... the Year of the Carpet

In the Western tradition of marriage, every year has a meaningful gift associated with it. The longer one is married, the more valuable and meaningful the gift. The early years start out with cheap but useful materials like paper and fruit. As the years pass more precious metals appear on the list; silver, gold, and diamond anniversaries.

So, in the Tait family, what do you give for the 26th Wedding anniversary? The official list says silver, but we know better. On May 25th, Deon and I gave each other something truly meaningful, something from the heart- we gave each other... carpet.

Yes, that's right. Carpet. On that wonderful, memorable day we had carpet installed in the kid's bedrooms. Two weeks later the master bedroom gets resurfaced.

I wish I could share some deep, remarkably symbolic and mystical coincidence that makes carpet roaringly romantic for my wife and I. Did I first meet her in a carpet store? Did our our lips and eyes lovingly lock over a super shag remnant? Did I cleverly hide an engagement ring deep in the strands of a heart-shaped throw rug and propose to her over a steam carpet cleaner?

No. The truth isn't very romantic, but it certainly goes beyond earthly description. We are confident enough in the eternal nature of our marriage covenant to know that the best way to celebrate a wedding anniversary is to give each other something we really wanted. We both wanted carpet really bad. Furthermore, with every step we take, every dirty sock we pick up, every evidence of cat vomit we lovingly remove from our new furry floor surfaces, we will be reminded of the bonds of love that bind us.

Or... it could be that expensive jewelry and a Kindle just wasn't in the budget this year...

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