JEREMY CORBETT
HE LOVES US BUT HE FORGOT THE PRESENT!
I’m torn when it comes to the thought of anniversaries. The “scientist” in me sees an anniversary as a completely random celebration based on an arbitrary time frame. Why a year? “Hey, do you realise this planet has made one revolution around the sun since we were married? Let’s drink!”
There’s another part of me that loves a good anniversary. He doesn’t get on well with “scientist” Jeremy. He likes the idea of celebrating milestones, rejoicing that we’ve stuck with something for a universally recognised unit of time.
He gets excited about the big moments in life. He sees enormous value in watching the speedometer roll over from 99999 to 100000. That part of me is so keen on anniversaries that he encouraged me to introduce more into our life. Not satisfied with marriages, birthdays, Easter and Christmas, I experimented with commemorating things like a new pair of jeans.
They didn’t stick because they’re simply not exciting enough to remember after a whole year and sadly anniversaries can’t be weekly or fortnightly. Something to do with the word “Anniversary”. Damn those Romans.
Megan and I are due to celebrate our 10th anniversary. It’s not 85 years, but it is hitting double figures, so it matters more than last year’s. So important is this particular landmark, we might even remember!
In fact, that’s a certainty, because on the exact date a good friend has had the presence of mind to celebrate his 50th birthday. Boom! Our celebration is locked in and organised.
Can’t wait to see the look on his face when we re-purpose his half-century festivities to toast our marriage.
Both Megan and I will be happy with that. Sure,
I might throw in a vacuum cleaner and she’ll give me some Bunnings vouchers, but basically, for us, the path of least resistance is one we’re glad to take.
And that’s one of the secrets to reaching big numbers when it comes to anniversaries: Don’t care too much.
It’s also important you both remain in sync. I completely forgot our anniversary one year. It didn’t matter because so did Megan.
About 5pm, on the day, she turned to me and said, “Holy crap, it’s our anniversary!”
“Happy anniversary,” we both said and went back to our phones.
And bear in mind the day after any anniversary, you’ll be back working hard to ensure you reach the next one.
That’s where you should invest your energy. Make each day count. Repeat 365 times and three out of four years you’ll hit another anniversary.
The scientist in me insisted I account for leap years. Kinda takes the gloss of what I was saying, but I have to live with him. So it is I am making today count by writing this column.
I’d love to be here for the 86th year of this magazine. Excuse me now while I raise a glass to Woman’s Weekly. Congratulations. I forgot to get you anything.