When I got married (9 years and 11 months ago), I assumed that I would want something fabulous for my tenth anniversary present.  Maybe a new diamond ring, like you see on the jewelry commercials with the happy couples. Or a vacation to somewhere exotic, like St. Lucia or Hawaii.  But time changes things (and so does the economy).  And interestingly enough, almost 10 years later all I want for my upcoming anniversary is a new set of dinnerware.  

One of the reasons this is on my wish list is practical.  Out of set of 12 place settings, we are somehow down to seven dinner plates, nine bowls and only about five sandwich plates.  And that doesn’t even include the two bowls and one plate that have been permanently put in the art cabinet because they are stained with paint and glue during one of our many creative projects.  Most have ended up on the floor broken into several pieces. I’d like to blame the kids, but most of the broken dishes have come from the people in our house who have driver’s licenses.

My very frugal and practical husband says “Fine, go pick up some nice plates at a big box store, just don’t spend much money.” Ugh.  

While I don’t need extravagant dinnerware, I don’t want to pick a set because it is priced right, practical, and matches my table linens.  I picked out my current set of dinnerware on these practical criteria (based on the advice of the nice lady in the Belks Bridal Department). But she didn’t know that I am a true romantic at heart and practicality isn’t necessarily how I want to live my life. This time I want plates that make me smile each time I set them on the table.  

One of the main reasons that I want plates is that I have realized that an anniversary isn’t just about celebrating us as a couple, but the family and life that we have created together.  To me eating dinner together is the ultimate family time, so what better way to celebrate our family than with new plates.

The last 10 years of our lives together have brought so many changes; we bought our first house, had two kids, added two new dogs to our family, and gotten new jobs.  But throughout everything, most night in the past 10 years we’ve eaten dinner off the cream colored plates with three blue circles.  

Hopefully, the new plates that my husband gives me on March 27 (hint, hint) will survive longer than our current set and will be with our family as our lives together change and evolve.  I predict that we will probably use plates to eat countless sandwiches on the way to the kid's sports games. These plates will probably be the host to many dinners with my children’s friends, maybe even a boyfriend/girlfriend or two.  And maybe if my husband and I learn how not to break plates all time, we might even eat off these plates before we head off to their high school graduations.  I want the plates that share these precious years with our family to be beautiful.

And a note to my husband, you should be very happy that I’ve got my heart set on plates for our anniversary.  They will cost you a heck of a lot less than a ring or that vacation would have.

Jennifer appears Mondays on TriangleMom2Mom.