It's been almost two years since I saw it. It sat behind some tarnished silver and a pile of tangled jewelry. I was at a thrift store and I heard it calling to me. It was a painting of Jesus, specifically a paint by number painting of Jesus. There was something about his face, each dimension of his beard painted in a different subtle shade of brown. I'm not too religious, I grew up Presbyterian and I'm sure when kids are in the picture we'll go back, but here and now the pure retro funkiness of this art was calling to me. The thing is, I was at the thrift store that day with my mother, and I knew if I picked up that painting to buy it, I would hear about it. "You can't just hang a picture of Jesus in your house? You don't even go to church, although I wish you would." I'm not sure why I wanted something so not me, but I wanted it badly. When I returned to the thrift store on my own he was gone and ever since it's been a regret that I didn't buy the paint by numbers Jesus.
For our first wedding anniversary and every one after, we want to follow the traditional gift schedule, and be a little creative about it, this first year was paper. Jesse handed me a half opened cardboard box stuffed with newspaper "its technically not paper, but close enough." I laughed because my present to him sat so neatly wrapped on the table and I was handed a box that just fell off the post truck. I peeled back the first layer of newspaper to behold "Jesus!" I shouted. I beamed with excitement. Looking down into the box again, a faint glow peeked out from the remaining newspaper, it was none other than Mary to join the gang. I was floored, I couldn't think of anything I wanted more. They're weird, colorful, fantastic, and who care's if I'm not Catholic or whatever, these are art. The beauty of the gift was that I never actually asked for it, he just knew that it was something I was always searching for and took it upon himself to find it. Honestly, gift exchanges between my husband and I over the past 6 years have been hit or miss. He's a dude, I don't communicate too well, and together we procrastinate. Giving a gift that was never ever expected, but awesome, is the best kind of gift. These two paintings will have to wait until we are in a new place, but when they get their own wall it's going to be righteous, literally.
He also got me some Padres tickets and a certificate for a mani/pedi. I got him a voucher to go on a spearfishing tour and some books on growing a beer garden and raising chickens and goats (we are really serious about this homestead thing). We had a nice dinner at Starlight, then enjoyed a slice of guava cake from Extraordinary Desserts at the buy your own bottle bar Bottlecraft.
Overall it was a marvelous anniversary and the first of many.