Flatware Anniversary Count
After an open palm’s worth in years of marriage, we still have and use most of our wedding gifts. The fitted sheets don’t fit our bed, for we acquired a larger bed. And the kettle that my brother’s mother-in-law gave us has rusted inside, so I painted it, style Americana. It decorates the top of the bookshelf. The Henckels 45-piece flatware set that my sister-in-law gave us has partially survived the five years of marriage, children, pet ownership, moving, and incorporating businesses. Partially for a few reasons:
Ty threw away two teaspoons. He was a little over a year old, and at his height, the garbage can will seduce anyone into opening it and putting stuff inside. Kyle threw away one teaspoon and one salad fork. I told him not to eat with salad forks, and he interpreted that salad forks were garbage. Of course, I dug out the pieces that I could find, but when my back is turned, hey, my back is turned.
A tablespoon was tossed into the rich foliage of our cottage in South Miami. I’m not blaming Isis, but that was the price to let her over the threshold. When we moved, we took account of what was missing and found that we had lost another salad fork and another tablespoon. Several months later, a knife was caught in the garbage disposal, but we managed to save it. Albeit, it warped, so that counts for the business incorporation.
The only utensils that are all accounted for are the dinner forks, the ones that only the adults are allowed to use. That’s probably why we still have all eight! 
One-half decade of conversation, changing diapers, crunching numbers, wiping spills, and sporadic sleeping has a low cost of three teaspoons, two salad forks, one tablespoon, and one knife. I think it’s worth it.
