Anniversary

This blog is a bit late because it’s been a hectic week. I started a new project, there was August Games (mini-local-Olympics), and I was running a fundraiser. That doesn’t often happen. Normally, things move at quite a slow pace here in Aishalton, allowing plenty of time for all sorts of work and play. In the middle of this crazy week was our three year anniversary. Knowing that all sorts of things would prevent us from having a normal anniversary, I tried doing some internet searches last week for creative ideas. I didn't find much creativity, but I found many typical, re-hashed, and, of-course, implausible ideas. Why is it with so many I thought I’d share a few I found comical and why they just wouldn’t work for Peace Corps Volunteers in Aishalton.

Make Each Other Melt
You can’t get sexier than sharing strawberries (use chocolate-dipped ones -- they’re an aphrodisiac) and champagne in bed.

I can’t! I’ll be covered in ants by 3am - you can’t leave a trace of food around. Also, I have no strawberries, no chocolate, and no champagne.

Get Limber for Later
Get up early on a weekend morning and take a hot yoga (Vinyasa or Bikram) class. Sharing a new experience together will bring you closer. Bonus: Your bodies will be primed for a hot “private” session later.

I have no access to yoga classes. And more importantly, I spend far too much of my time being ridiculously hot without any effort. It’s not sexy at all.

Steam up the Kitchen
Cook dinner together using erotic ingredients that stimulate the libido, like oysters, figs, and avocados (to name a few). Light candles and open a bottle of your favorite wine. Chances are you won’t make it to dessert.

Oysters? Figs? Avocados? Wine? How about something I have access to? Rice and beans. I can check, but I don’t think beans are libido-stimulating. And candles? I have dinner every night by kerosene lamp, so it has lost its sexy appeal.

Sizzle at a Spa
Treat yourselves to a day of double relaxation. You can book almost any spa treatment together (hello, hot stone massage!). Want a recession-proof spa day? Here’s how to get a steamy massage going at home.

A nearby spa? The closest I can recreate is a mud bath. Already Chris and I spend each evening applying a variety of ‘oils’ and ointments. Hydrocortisone for the bug bites, aloe vera for the burns, baby powder to soak up the sweat, or coconut oil to keep away the bugs. It is a bit more pragmatic than relaxing.

Feel Warm and Fuzzy
Get your butts off the sofa and do some volunteer work together. It’s a great way to bond while doing something worthwhile. Carry that euphoric, feel-good vibe home and get charitable between the sheets.

Do some volunteer work together? I don’t know, maybe Peace Corps is a bit different than an hour at the soup kitchen, but we can get to feeling a bit worn-out rather than euphoric.

Create a VIP Club
Who needs a bar to dance? Load your iPod with sexy tunes, from Kanye to Katy Perry, and hook it up to the speakers in your pad. Bonus points for hanging a disco ball (find these cheap at Walmart, Target, or your local party store) to get a club-like vibe.

Wow. I think the neighbors would be a bit weirded out by the lights of a disco ball and Kanye blaring from our house. And I wonder how I could possibly power this party in a house with no electricity….

Share a Hot Shower
Who cares if you can only fit one person in there? Lather each other up with some vanilla bath gel and you won't mind being in such close quarters.

I’d be so happy to have a hot shower! Running water!? Now, we could potentially take a bucket bath together…. If you throw a cup of water over my head, I’ll throw one over yours.

Create a Cozy Retreat
We all made blanket forts when we were kids -- now re-create it with a sexy twist. Line the floor of your living room with mountains of pillows and watch a sexy flick together.

Mountains of pillows on the concrete floor of my living room? We only have 2 pillows. A sexy flick?! To watch on what TV?

Bundle Up (and Take It Off)
Challenge your mate to two-person strip poker. It’s guaranteed to be hotter than the group version since you’ll be in the buff in no time. Add a twist: Whoever keeps their clothes on the longest gets to call the shots during the postgame (wink, wink).

I don’t think I’ll be stripping now. There are enough mosquitoes, sandflies, and kaborahs now to keep me covered.

Suds It Up
Make a date in the driveway and get dirty washing down your cars. C'mon, you know the car could use a fresh coat of wax. Plus you + him + soap suds + water = sexy.

Oh, where do I start? Cars? Washing them in the driveway? Whenever you pull your water bucket by bucket from a well, the amount of water needed to hose down your car (or each other) seems absolutely ridiculous. Besides, who would spend an anniversary washing cars???

After a disappointing search for creative ideas, we decided we would do it true Peace Corps style and abandon all hopes and desires for material goods. Why try to meed that desire, then risk being disappointed at the end of the day? We swore off gifts, fine foods, and physical comforts. We said we would truly focus on each other and just enjoy the little time we had in the day together. We would be completely pragmatic.

The morning came and I couldn't help myself. When I got up to make breakfast, I cut the biscuits into heart shapes, put a beer glass with some parrot feathers (bouquet?) on the table, and served up special vanilla coffee for Chris. When I came back for lunch, Chris had hunted down a chicken and cooked it over the fire for me. After dinner, Chris gave me a small gift – a purse knitted by a local lady.

It was a busy day, as many will be for the rest of our lives. We thought we could do without the small things that make the ordinary extraordinary, but it turns out those are the things that help make our lives bearable. Thank goodness I have Chris here. I don't think I could do this alone. Not only does Chris open my stuck bottles and kill the roaches, but he understands my frustrations and joys, massages my feet, and makes the house a 'home-y' place to come to each evening. So, if you have a bottle of wine or champagne, open it and enjoy a toast to Chris. Chris, I love you!