What to Write in an Anniversary Card, Whoever It's For

Another year, and I'd still pick the seat next to you.

Happy anniversary. Same person, better jokes.

One more year of you. Lucky me.

Still my first phone call.

You still send me a picture of every good dog you meet.

Thanks for another year of sharing the remote and everything else.

Two people, one calendar, and no idea what we're doing Saturday.

Happy anniversary to you two, and to the rest of us who get to watch.

I'd marry you again, and this time I'd pick better music.

The date's on the calendar. The reason is across the table.

You've seen me at my worst before nine a.m., and you still kiss me goodbye.

On our wedding day I knew I loved you. I didn't know how much of it would come down to who makes the coffee.

The life I like best is the one with your shoes by the door.

When something good happens, it doesn't feel real until I've told you.

I've stopped trying to explain us to people. They'd have to see you with the dog.

Every year I think I've learned everything about you, and then you order something strange at a restaurant.

You make our house feel like somewhere I'd want to come home to, even when it's a mess. It's usually a mess.

You cut the last bite in half and gave me the bigger half. I noticed.

Of all the things I've said yes to, you're the one that keeps paying off.

Years in, my favorite place is still wherever you've sat down.

Happy anniversary. I've now heard all your stories, and I'd like to hear them again, but shorter.

Another year of you being right about the directions. I'll deny writing this.

We've made it this far without either of us learning to load the dishwasher the other one's way.

Thanks for staying married to me. The paperwork to leave looked exhausting.

Here's to another year of asking what you want for dinner and being told you don't care.

You're the only person I'd share a blanket with, and you know how badly that's gone.

Marriage is mostly finding out who finished the milk. It's been you. I love you anyway.

Congratulations on another year with someone who claps when the plane lands.

Happy anniversary to two people who still can't agree on the thermostat.

Our love has outlasted three couches and a sourdough starter.

You two make marriage look like something a person might actually enjoy.

Happy anniversary to my favorite couple to sit next to at any dinner.

Watching you two argue over a grocery list is one of the small joys of my life.

You two still ask how the other one's meeting went, and then you listen to the answer. It's making the rest of us look bad.

Another year, and you still laugh at each other's jokes before the punch line. We've noticed.

Whatever you two are doing, keep doing it. We're taking notes.

Your house has always felt like a good place to be, and that's because of the two of you.

You show up for everyone else all year. Today it's your turn.

Wishing you a quiet dinner, a good bottle of something, and nobody asking you for anything.

I was at the wedding. I said it was a good idea then, and I've been right every year since.

You taught me what a long marriage looks like, mostly by arguing about the crossword and then finishing it together.

Everything I know about staying came from watching the two of you.

Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad. The porch light was always on, and one of you was always pretending not to wait up.

When people ask what a good marriage looks like, I describe your kitchen at seven in the morning.

You still read each other the good parts of the paper. I hope I get that someday.

Grandma and Grandpa, you've been married longer than most things in my life have existed, including the internet.

Your marriage is the oldest thing in our family that still works, and that includes the car.

Thank you for the years I saw and the many more I didn't.

Our whole family started with you two saying yes. Happy anniversary.

One year down. We've learned who snores, and we're both still here.

Happy first anniversary. The cake in the freezer was a mistake, but you weren't.

Five years. You've seen me sick, lost and wrong, often in the same week.

Ten years, and I still look for reasons to come home early.

Ten years in, we've become people who get excited about a new vacuum. I wouldn't change it.

Twenty years and about ten thousand loads of laundry. You folded maybe twelve.

Twenty-five years. Whoever bet against you two at the wedding owes someone money.

Thirty years of showing up. Nobody gives out medals for that, so here's a card.

Forty years, and you two still have things to tell each other. That might be the whole trick.

Fifty years. Most of us can't keep a houseplant for five. Congratulations on all of it.

It wasn't an easy year. You were still the person I wanted in the room.

We didn't get the year we planned. I'm glad I got it with you.

We're tired, and we're still here. That counts for something today.

You carried a lot of this year when I couldn't. I know exactly how much.

No big speech this year. Just thank you, and I love you.

I don't have a clever line. I have a hand to hold, if you want it.

I know this year has been heavy for you both. I'm thinking of you today, and I'm glad you have each other.

I won't call it a great year. You did make me laugh in a hospital parking lot, and I'm keeping that.

Next year might be easier. Either way, I want to be there for it.