The 19-Year Project

ANNIVERSARY GIFT FOR MY WIFE

December 6, 2012, marked the nineteenth year that my wife and I had been together. This was significant for me because it meant from that day forward, I would spend more time with her in my life than I had without her. To celebrate I created a memento case to hold all the little keepsakes, memorable items and gifts we had made for each other over the years. The centerpiece was a cross-section of birch log that I had laser engraved with a hand-lettered illustration I had made to commemorate the moment. The lumber for the case came from a picnic table that was in the back yard of our house when we bought it that had started to fall apart.

The smaller case in the center with the glass door holds photos from our wedding, our toasting glasses and our wedding invitation. The map has color-coded pins to indicate the places we have lived together or gone together on vacation. There’s also an antique ammo can which contains all the letters we wrote to each other from when I was in the Marines and we were dating long distance.

The case hangs on the wall in our bedroom.