Your Dating Anniversary. The date of your first date. The “gotcha day” of your marriage story. Do you remember when it was? More importantly, do you celebrate it? And is that even a thing? How important is it when you’ve been married over 20-25 years? Or it is just a good excuse to not cook and have dinner out?

What A Dating Anniversary Starts Out As

When you started dating the person you ended up marrying, you had no idea at the time that this dating would lead to being attached for this many years under the legal term “marriage”. You judged the success of the relationship on the amount of time you had been “dating” or what Mike called “hanging out”. And if the relationship reached a full year, it felt like you had been together forever.

At two years and three years of dating and sometimes longer, the anniversaries turn more into obvious opportunities for your fella (or you) to make a grand gesture and suggest marriage while kneeling on one knee. And yes, Mike got down on his knees. Because I was lying down.

Marriage Changes The Dating Anniversary

Once you get married, all celebrations of commitment move to the date of your marriage. The dating anniversary becomes overshadowed, just another story. Just another date on the calendar. Sometimes you may remember it when it comes around, sometimes you don’t. But generally during all of the early years of marriage, it is an afterthought.

But as the years pass, thoughts of nostalgia and the good ole days return. It is natural to look back on your life and remember when. And this includes remembering when you were single and when you started to “date” or “hang out” with this person way back when. And it’s hard to believe it’s been as long as it’s been.

I think back and wonder what I would think if I whispered in 27 year old Lesley’s ear that this first date with Mike to a bike race will be the beginning of being together 28 years this week. I guarantee she wouldn’t be able to fathom 1. being 54 years old and 2. being with one person that long because she’s only ever been with one person for longer than a year and that felt like forever until she finally got bored enough to leave.

The Sweet Memory Should Live On

But this one. This dating anniversary lives on. This guy stuck around. Who knew? You didn’t. And although the wedding anniversary is a great way to outwardly celebrate your commitment to each other for the long haul, I believe celebrating the date of your first date is just as important.

This is the day that you agreed to start to start this ride together without knowing what it would look like many, many years later. It was the beginning of a sweet journey that has defined your life on many levels. It is a day that should mean something to only you and your partner. Mark it. Acknowledge it and how far you have come together. Revisit who you were, who you are, and all that you still have left to do together.

Be married for how ever many years, but date forever.

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