Hubby recently returned from a trip to Latvia. While there, he sent a picture of a bridge that is covered with hundreds of padlocks engraved with names of couples. Their tradition is to hang the lock on the bridge, and toss the key into the waters below. It is an incredibly romantic gesture, and you can tell some of the locks have been there for a very long time.
Here in the U.S., we have a special bridge of our own. Over two decades ago, after our tenth date, I had begun to wonder if hubby would ever get up the nerve to kiss me. Finally, he drove out to an old iron bridge and sealed our fate with a precious first kiss. This past weekend, we celebrated our nineteenth wedding anniversary!
Hubby and I take turns planning our celebration each year. We’ve celebrated in wineries, restaurants, theaters, parks, and even a casino. Last year he had planned to take me to the West Baden Springs Hotel in French Lick, but our plans were thwarted by a toddler with a serious case of croup. So, even though it wasn’t his turn, he took it upon himself to come up with a surprise plan for this year.
Our life has been so busy lately that I was somewhat skeptical that he actually had a plan. I figured we would leave the kids with grandma and then see where the day took us. That was fine with me, as our time alone is practically non-existent and I was excited to have a few hours just lollygagging about with him.
We drove to downtown Indy, and walked hand in hand, examining the posted menus at each restaurant. We finally decided upon the Oceanaire Seafood Room, and were delighted that due to the time of day, we had the place to ourselves. After our late lunch, we decided to see a movie. Hubby was trying to keep up the façade of having planned all of this ahead of time, but I could see right through him. I knew there was no plan.
Once again, we found ourselves alone; the only ones in the theater. The movie was a bit of a yawn, and soon I found myself snoozing comfortably on hubby’s shoulder. The next thing I knew, he was asking if I wanted to leave. I felt terrible about falling asleep, and tried to convince him to stay, but he insisted on going. Hubby is a devoted movie watcher, and stays with the absolute worst of movies all the way to the end, so I was a bit stymied.
As we drove out of town, I reminded him that we still needed to shop for our daughter’s birthday party, but he had something else in mind. We ended up at the sight of our first kiss, and he presented me with a beautiful card containing a key. We walked across the bridge, and there it was….a padlock engraved with our names and wedding date. It was possibly the most romantic gesture of our life together, and I was moved to tears. We spent a few minutes reminiscing, amazed at the path that led us to this point in life.
I babbled on and on about how I couldn’t believe he pulled off such a lovely surprise. I said there was no way he would ever be able to surprise me like that again. He gave me a sideways glance, “You don’t think I can surprise you again?”
“Nope! No way!” I replied.
He told me he needed to run by the house before continuing our date, and stopped at the mailbox to retrieve the mail. As he pulled up the driveway, I perused the newspaper, completely oblivious to the other vehicles. I told him I would wait outside, but he urged me to go in for just a minute.
I was shocked to find a house full of relatives and friends, a bouquet of nineteen gorgeous roses, and a three tier wedding cake decorated in my favorite color! I hate crying in front of people, but the tears started to roll again. I couldn’t believe he had planned the entire event without my knowledge. I don’t know what’s in the water that flows under that romantic bridge in Latvia, but hubby must have bathed in it!
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