I celebrate my second wedding anniversary to Eric tomorrow, on board a plane to Chicago. We’ve been so busy getting the dog, 3 cats, 3 kids and ourselves ready for the disruption a trip causes around here that there’s been no time for us to really think about this marriage anniversary thing. We did, however, have an argument about fake vs. real Christmas trees.

It wasn’t really an argument. I was just miffed because his son’s school has been teaching “Green” living to its kids. This is great! Except, somehow his 8 year old came away believing that we intend to kill a tree and throw it in the trash after Christmas. While shopping today for those cute lit doe and bucks you now see on every other front lawn, Eric told me Andrew wanted to ask me about getting a fake tree.

What!?? And not have the traditional freeze butts off to find the perfect tree and chop it down routine? No greens that I use for a zillion decorations and which smell so good? No water in the tree stand for the cats to drink? (Gross, but they do that!) No debate every year on what kind of tree, how big, and how to fit it into the living room in the exact spot in front of the window so you can see the pretty lights when you’re outside?

We get our trees mulched. I like to leave them around for the birds too. We live in the country and have enough property that we can leave dead trees around for shelter. We can even get a live tree and replant it. But a fake tree? I’m not ready to wrap my head around that one yet.

There are two huge signs that a couple is getting old, if you ask me.

Separate bedrooms, because they have so many health ailments they can no longer sleep together. And the other one is putting a ceramic Christmas tree on a table and calling it a day.

Eric and I got married late, this being our “second one is the charm” marriage for each of us. We’re not that young, but our marriage is. I’m not ready for a ceramic Christmas tree or midnight visits when someone is feeling frisky.

How did I ever get on that subject?

I will be reporting on sessions (8 of them, if I survive), for 3 days, at the Search Engine Strategies Conference in Chicago. My session posts will be posted at SERoundtable. If there’s time, I’ll use this blog to tell stories and make you hate me because I’m there and you’re not.

Usually it is I who feels that way about everyone who gets to go. If I saw one more happy picture of SEO’s in San Jose, having all that fun, I was going to scream.

Now, its my turn. I deserve it. I lasted two years in this new marriage, and still get my way about the Christmas tree.

If you see this…you’re a true friend.

This space will change, as long as I don’t blow up anything. New server. New software. New blog.