11 years

M and I went on our first date eleven years ago today. I've told the story of our first date before, but it's worth revisiting, as it's all sweet and squishy...

We went to the movies to see The Talented Mr. Ripley. He gave me his long blue scarf as we waited in the ticket line and the biting January wind whipped around us. During the movie, we giggled to each other about the old ladies in front of us who kept asking each other, "Is the movie over yet? Is he dead yet?" every five minutes as they crinkled their peppermint candy wrappers. After sharing coffee at the little shop near my apartment, we decided we couldn’t bear for the night to end, so we rented another movie and cuddled under my comforter. Halfway into that second movie, he kissed me. Six months later, he said he was in love with me.
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I never mentioned what happened at the end of the first night, but we're all friends here, right? Let's just say that in ended sans clothes a former convent (in the head nun's room!). You can all use your imaginations to fill in the rest. :-)

Since that night, there have been some amazing highs and some dark lows... and eleven years later, we're still kicking. I think one of the key contributing factors to our longevity is our willingness and ability to communicate - we talk about everything from the silly to the mundane to the serious. I always know how M feels about any given topic (this includes the good and the bad) and he's always the first person I want to talk to when something exciting happens or when I need some advice. As much as he may frustrate me, he's always the one I want to come home to. He is my support system, my biggest cheerleader, and my best friend.

We don't do anything big for our anniversary, as it's so close to Christmas (we always use that as an opportunity to spoil each other). We're heading out later for one of our usual Saturday night activities - dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, a movie (Blue Valentine - really, there's nothing like a movie about the demise of a relationship to celebrate an anniversary), and cupcakes from our favorite shop. Honestly, I'm just happy to spend the night with him (awww). :-)

Happy anniversary to us!