12 Years

Yesterday marked my 12th year as Mate's significant other.  We stopped celebrating this day when we started celebrating our wedding anniversary, but, this year, we used it as an excuse to go out.  Months and months ago, we found out The Book of Mormon was coming to Playhouse Square.  Mate mentioned that he really wanted to see this musical and I made a secret note on the calendar so I wouldn't forget to buy tickets the day they went on sale.  Work and kids and life made Mate forget all about the show and I was able to snatch up a pair of tickets without him knowing.  I planned on giving them to him as a surprise birthday or Father's Day gift.  That plan would have worked had a co-worker not mentioned to Mate that he was excited to have gotten Book of Mormon tickets before they sold out.  A disappointed Mate came home that day and told me we forgot to buy tickets.  Ummm. . . what now?  I tried so hard to act disappointed.  I overcompensated, suggesting we look on ebay or craigslist or stubhub.  I fibbed and then didn't like that I fibbed, so I just blurted out that I bought tickets for us to go on the anniversary of our 12th year.  Yes, I suppose it's a good thing that I can't look my husband in the eyes and lie to him, but that really would have been a fun surprise.

Fast forward a couple of months and our night out finally arrived.  My in-laws came over to watch the kids, which meant we could have a worry-free evening.  Our night started with dinner at Chinato, another great East 4th establishment.  After a delicious meal, we took a nice walk to the theater.  Thankfully, Mate was there to hold my hand because, apparently, I'm a little out of practice when it comes to walking in heels.  Those Cleveland streets had it out for me!

The Restaurant

Besides knowing that The Book of Mormon sells out in almost every city and was created by the writers of South Park, I was pretty much in the dark.  Mate kept saying he was nervous that the show might be a little more inappropriate than I would appreciate, but I told him not to worry.  Let's just say it was a really entertaining experience with a few cringe worthy moments.  I'm not going to lie, it was nice to just sit back, relax and laugh (especially while on a date with the guy I've called mine for twelve years).