Celebrating the gift of hitting our Year 5, AKA Wood, Anniversary…
Before I get to the Year 5 Anniversary gift idea recommendations (which are really just things we’ve done this year to commemorate the Wood theme), I just want to take a moment to reflect on what this past year has looked like.
It’s been a solidly dichotomous year. A year both of growth as well as stagnation. There’s almost an incongruous branching that we’ve seen throughout year 5: we’ve changed and grown so much while so much around us, be it circumstances or children’s behavior, feels very much the same.
Wood that it were so simple… It’s complicated.
We loop on many of the same issues. Splinters of wood causing irritations. Our caterpillar kids crunching away at fresh, new leaves… It’s just the day-to-day grind of raising a family, self-improvement and trauma work, housekeeping, breadwinning, et cetera. The reality is that marriage, life in general, it’s all challenging.
But I wood marry Nathan all over again. Especially knowing what I know now. Especially having experienced this year in particular. This gift of hitting our 5 Year Anniversary, after the year we’ve had… After the past 5 years we’ve had…
Not to get too sappy, but I wood do it all over again and again and again. Fir real.
For all of the challenge, there has been tree-mendous growth. Maybe some of our branches have gotten beaten up, broken, and pruned, but it’s all to make room for healthier growth. You should see our roots! Deep and anchored in understanding, love, patience, support, and encouragement for one another.
At its core, that’s what Year 5 has felt like for us… A foundational year that leads to bountiful fruit in the years to come. We’re sowing constructive, challenging work now to reap satisfying, intimate harvest going forward.
Our Knotty Anniversary Plans
Now, in case you’re stumped on gift ideas for a Year 5 “Wood” Anniversary, leaf it to me! These are actually just the things we’ve chosen to do to honor the theme as traditional minimalists. As I’ve previously mentioned, Nathan and I aren’t big into stuff or material possessions. Less is more.
We tend more toward experiences, adventures, and consumables for special events than keepsake gifts or items. So, in honoring the wood theme, we opted for an arboreal commemoration.
Planting Roots
Nathan and I, as a mutual gift for our Year 5 Anniversary, planted a tree. Not just any tree, but one that resonated with our interests and would acclimatize to the Texas heat well. We chose a Summer Chocolate Mimosa tree.
Hardy and drought resistant, with dark purple foliage and fuzzy, pink blooms, this tree looks like something tropical, yet sci-fi and alien. And we love chocolate. And mimosas. We’re in!
And, really, it’s quite literally a “family tree” now, since Orson and Nova were all too happy to pitch in. The four of us each took turns at digging the hole out to plant the tree in, and it made our choice all the more special and memorable.
Every time we look in the backyard and see our Year 5 Anniversary gift tree, it’ll serve as a beautifully symbolic reminder of the strength and growth of our marriage. And that’s a gift that keeps giving.
Get Hammered
Haha, not really! But couldn’t resist the pun.
We also couldn’t resist splurging on a special bottle of whiskey. So, I settled on a small-batch bottle of RD One. It’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey finished with Brazilian Amburana wood. Super highly rated and reviewed, so we’re anxious to break into it for a sip.
We enjoy sipping whiskeys and imbibing Old Fashioneds together as a special treat. Hence, for a Year 5 Anniversary gift, I really couldn’t pass up trying this one.
If you’re more of a wine drinker, a nice bourbon-barrel aged selection would fit the brief nicely. Nathan and I are partial to Firebrand wines. Our favorite is Firebrand’s red blend, but the Chardonnay Reserve is also exceptional if you prefer a white wine. It’s my go-to for making Nova’s birthday risotto.
A Yummy Treet
For our final Year 5 Anniversary experience, the gift of good food… Hopefully. I’ll keep you updated on that with a future review, I’m sure.
Our anniversary dinner will be at Kindling Texas Kitchen in Cibolo. With a name so thematically on the nose, we figured it was the perfect opportunity to give it a go. I love being beholden to the traditional themes because it offers a unique challenge of intentionally finding the right puzzle pieces that go together.
For Year 5, a wood theme, it wood not be too difficult to find a suitable culinary fit. Wood-fired kitchens. Wood-fired pizzas. Restaurants with fitting names like Kindling or Embers. There are wood-fired coffee shops and old-timey, Prohibition-era taverns with long, wooden bar tops.
So just do a little digging for what’s in your area, and you may find a similar satisfaction in the thematic wordplay. Or maybe it’s just me… I don’t know what I wood do without puns, for example. Truly a love language and a great Year 5 Anniversary gift unto itself.
Five Years Down, Fir Ever to Go
As he has since our first anniversary, Nathan presented me with this incredibly precious and sappy Year 5 Anniversary gift. This is always my favorite anniversary tradition that I look forward to every year.
He compiles and edits footage of our family throughout the year, starting with our previous anniversary leading up to the current, and presents me with a commemorative video of the highlights. The moments we might forget. Nova’s first steps. Christmases and birthdays. Hugs and kisses galore. It’s all there in these videos.
And now, I get to share these moments with you. It paints a better picture than I ever could with words alone. How beautiful and vibrant and complicated and challenging and precious this family and this marriage are. And a perfect reminder of why I wood choose it again and again till the end of time.
This life is beautiful.
Enjoy it.