Magical Anniversary Presents

This is the story of one of the more magical anniversary presents. Magical because not only did the couple I'm writing about come up with a great gift for each other, but they came out of it with something even more special. A new friend.

This couple has been married for over twenty years. Each year they try to do something special for their anniversary to celebrate that they have survived another year of working on their marriage vows. Their celebration often includes an overnight in the city where they spent their honeymoon. They also exchange anniversary presents. Through the years it has become more difficult to come up with new and creative ideas for anniversary presents.

Five years ago they discussed that they should purchase something for their home instead of buying individual anniversary presents. They had moved to a different house and needed several things. They decided that they would purchase a new lamp table as well as a new chair. They spent an afternoon picking out the items and then they went out for a special dinner to celebrate the anniversary.

This seemed like a good idea so they did the same thing the next year. They were shopping in the city of their honeymoon and came across a very unique painting. They decided that the colors would look great in their living room. The painting would take the place of anniversary presents. This was an original art work created by a local artist.

The owner of the art gallery told us that the artist was going to be at the gallery the next day if they would want to meet him. The painting was already signed by the artist, but they thought it would be nice to be able to say that they had met the artist. they made arrangements to come back to the gallery the next day.

Here's where the story gets a little strange, but in a wonderful, almost mystical way. It seems as if the anniversary present they bought each other was almost magical.

That evening they went to one of their favorite restaurants to have dinner. They ordered a bottle of champagne and told the waitress that they were celebrating their anniversary. They were enjoying their leisurely dinner and they also danced a few dances on the small dance floor that connected to the dinning room. When they were ready to leave they asked for their check. The waitress informed them that the bill had been taken care of by a gentleman at the bar. They told her that there must be some mistake that they did not know anyone in town.

She stated that the gentleman had asked what they were celebrating with the champagne and stated that he wanted to pay their bill. She pointed him out to us. They walked up to the middle aged man in the bar to express their gratitude. He was just getting up to leave. He said that he enjoyed watching couples that obviously had a strong relationship and that he sensed this with them. He congratulated them and left.

They were amazed by the stranger’s generosity. They were more shocked the next day when they went back to the art gallery and discovered that the artist of their new purchase was the man that had bought their dinner. It seems they were drawn to his talent the same as he was drawn to their relationship. They explained about buying things for their home in place of anniversary presents. They have kept in contact with him through the years and have developed a great friendship.

Sometimes you get a little more than you expected when you give a nice, unique anniversary present to each other.