On Anniversaries, Idina Menzel, and Savoring the Moment

Today is Husband and I’s seventh wedding anniversary. Seven years ago, we got married in heat so intense in it made my bridesmaids look like this:

I had told God I didn’t want to be cold on my wedding day. He listened.

Husband and I went out and celebrated on Saturday by going to see Idina Menzel in concert.

She was sick (poor thing), but magnificent none the less. Later that night while Husband was snoring and I was still trying to fall asleep (I envy his ability to fall asleep within seconds of hitting the pillow – lucky bastard), I was struck by just how fitting it was that we had seen her, of all people, for our anniversary.

It was Husband who took me to see Rent for the first time back in 2002. The date was significant because it was our four-month anniversary (back when we counted our anniversaries by months), and it was the first time we had done anything “fancy” together. (Our dates typically consisted of dinners and renting movies; we were not, and still aren’t, very high maintenance people) I loved Rent before I ever saw it live. I loved the music, the message, and the cursing. How many musicals do you know that say “shit” within the first 25 words? I loved it even more after I saw it that day. The clothes, the dancing, and the power behind those words. And to experience it all with the boy I had crushed on for over a year? Priceless.

Us on our way to Rent for our fourth anniversary.

Idina spent some time at her concert on Saturday talking about Rent and Jonathan Larson‘s message, and how it became especially pertinent after his tragic and premature passing. Rent encourages us to live our lives to the fullest, treat each day like it could be our last, and not waste time regretting things we cannot change. This is a philosophy that I buy into whole-heartedly, although within reason. I’m not going to blow my savings account on the off-chance that I’m not around tomorrow to spend it. But, I do believe in trying my hardest every day to be the person I want to be. I believe in taking chances and putting myself out there. I do believe in savoring every single second I have with those who are important to me.

What fills me to the brim with happiness is just how many of those moments I have savored, thanks to my incredible husband and our wonderful marriage. Moments like this…

and this…

are ones that fill me with a joy I hadn’t thought possible before I met Husband. He is my everything, and together we’ve created a life that’s as close to perfect as I think you can get.

So here’s to us, Husband. Thanks for the first seven years, and I can’t wait for the rest! I love you!

For more gag-worthy sentimental mush, see last year’s anniversary post here.