Mrs. Eric Darby

I have had the happy privilege of being Mrs. Eric Darby for the past 18 years now. We got married on August 8th, 1992.

Some of our anniversary celebrations have been simple. I cook, the kids toast us, we kiss. A good time was had by all.

On a few of our anniversaries we've managed to escape for a weekend.

This year, we planned our vacation to coincide with our anniversary. Eric made super-top-secret plans to take me somewhere. "You have to dress up" being the only clue he would give me.

We spent a fabulous day on the beach with Lucy and Jon.

Lucy and I walked all the way down the very flat beach and she scratched this message out in the sand when we were blocks away (just so I could take a photo). Aww.

The current was very strong that day and when Eric got out of the water, he accidentally (serendipitously?) came out on this very spot. (Coincidence? I think not.)

He was at first confused. Then pleased. (Win!)

In the afternoon, I dutifully powdered and primped and put on high heels and makeup. Aside from wearing my red lipstick pretty much every day, I don't usually wear much makeup and certainly not high heels, so this was a bit sacrificial for me, but that's not important right now.

Eric took me to a wonderful (and chi-chi) restaurant at the top of a 12 story building in San Diego called Bertrand at Mr. A's with spectacular views of the city, the airport, and the bay. And we happened to get there on the clearest day they've had this year. (That's Mexico on the horizon.)

Talk about feeling soooo accidentally cool!

The meal (surf and turf - yeah, baby!) was spectacular.

And the dessert (creme brulee!) came with a special greeting. (I know. Shut up.)

We held hands and reviewed the many twists and turns and all the adventures we've shared for the past 18 years.

I often say that I married a good man. Every day I spend with him brings more conviction.

He likes to say that I've brought color and music to his life. I'd say we've got a pretty winning combination here.

Do we ever fight? Absolutely. Often, and well. He fights much better than I do. I'm a "stuffer." But we always manage to remember that "the issue is never the issue" so our fights are usually productive.

But more often than not, we default back to our original relationship, which is that we were friends first.

I often hear people say that they married their best friend. In our case I would say that's definitely true.

And yes, it was totally worth dressing up with the high heels and make up. =D