I was speaking with my neighbor Tom about his 25 years of marriage. I figure after that long, you’ve got to know a thing or two about keeping it fresh with your wife. Here’s a story that he gave to me:

It was our wedding anniversary. I can’t remember which one exactly, we’ve had 25 to date. But I do remember this very special one, as if it were yesterday.

My wife Deb and I have this tradition: Every Christmas season, we set aside an evening to watch the classic movie “White Christmas” starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and that other gal, I forgot her name. (ED: probably Vera-Ellen) By know, you’d think I would remember after 25 years of watching this movie, but with age comes… well, you know.

Deb and I like going to the theater for a relaxing evening of entertainment. When we do, we usually buy a large popcorn and soda and make a supper of it. It’s kind of a take from Deb’s family: When she was a young girl, every Saturday night, her family would pop popcorn and watch TV and that would be supper for them. She has many fond memories of doing that as a family tradition! So, this one particular Christmas, I tried making our tradition a little more intimate.

I knew a place where they sell big screen TV’s. They had a separate room set up as an entertainment center, with a 60 inch TV, surround sound, the works. They even had a love seat right up in front of the screen. A very romantic setting.

I asked the owner if I could rent the room for one night to view “White Christmas”. He said, “Sure thing…”; so I gave him the video, slipped him a $20, went to the theater to pick up a large popcorn and soda, and it was all set for my sweetheart and me to enjoy a romantic evening together at our own little “mini Theater”.

Deb was surprised, to say the least, when we got there. We sat down on the love seat with a popcorn and soda from the theater waiting there for us. When I clicked the remote, “White Christmas” came up on the screen! She loved it! We loved it! God is good!

Tom from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, USA