Date Night

Husby and I just celebrated our wedding anniversary. We reminisced about our wedding day and our lives then compared to now. Seems these days we have more aspirations than we did when we first began life as a couple. We’re ready to take a turn, and yet we’re a couple of chickens, scared to take that turn. It’s hard to let go of something that gives you so much security for something that is so uncertain. And yet we continue to fantasize and dream, and even devise The Plan. One day we’ll have enough guts to put The Plan into action. For now we’re only taking baby steps toward our goals.

To celebrate our anniversary we decided on dinner and a movie. I know, really creative date. We chose to see Julie and Julia. I wanted to see it for my birthday two months ago and we never got around to it due to circumstances I can’t even remember now. Husby was ever so generous to submit to a chick flick (even though I know he secretly loves them) and then we splurged on a very scrumptious Chinese dinner.

We both liked the movie, and the story got us to thinking about those aspirations I was talking about earlier. Both Julie and Julia were looking for more in their lives, searching for something to give their lives a little more meaning. They both had very supportive husbands, which I’ve been lucky enough to snag. There is a lot to be said for the tolerance, patience, and support of a good spouse. When it came to finding that special meaning in Julie and Julia's lives, their husbands thrived on the obsessions of the girls just about as much as the girls themselves did.

One thing stood out for me – neither Julie nor Julia submitted to their passions in an all or nothing kind of way. Julia worked around her husband’s job which required them to move from one town to another, or from one country to another. Julie kept her unfulfilling day job while she pursued her blogging career. A person can chase a dream despite obstacles and without having to abandon the trivial things (read: pesky day job) that provide a means for survival and the pursuit of that dream.

Things can look kind of hopeless sometimes, like you’ll never get to that place you’ve been dreaming of. But the baby steps toward a goal really add up, and if you look at your life from a distance you might very well be closer to that dream life than you think. Keep plugging away and keep dreaming. That’s what I took away from this very wonderful anniversary date.