A special anniversary for an artist couple

A blue bird sits on a tree, and beneath it, two women are holding hands. It’s a birthday card from a friend. It feels like she really tried to find something that suited our friendship. My friend kindly looked up the lunar calendar from the year I was born and figured out that my lunar birthday, June 18, falls on July 17 in the solar calendar. Along with the card, she wrote a long message thanking me for being her friend for such a long time.

But my husband doesn’t even remember my birthday or our wedding anniversary.
“My birthday already passed. Do you know when our wedding day is?”

“How can anyone remember all those little things?” 

he says, looking at me like I’m being ridiculous.

Well, maybe it is a bit much to expect someone to convert lunar dates to solar dates, especially when life is hard and busy. Maybe remembering birthdays isn’t a priority.

“I’m never going to celebrate birthdays or anniversaries again,”
one of my friends once said after sharing how upset she had been. She had reminded her husband of her birthday, made a reservation at a nice restaurant, dressed up, and waited at the table—only to feel foolish. Every time they tried to have a special evening, they ended up arguing. So she finally decided to give up on celebrations.

Both my husband and I are artists. For us, special days are “the days our paintings sell.” 

Whenever we sell a painting, we raise a glass to celebrate all the days we didn’t get to celebrate before. Lately, we’ve been clinking glasses more often. If things go well, we might even celebrate future anniversaries in advance.

The happiest day for us was when, during hard times, a more established artist bought one of our paintings. It feels extra special when one artist recognizes another’s work. Sometimes when we visit exhibitions, we find works we want to buy too. We've purchased a few affordable pieces to support fellow or younger artists.

Still, even on days when we sell a painting, our dinner table remains simple. My husband jokes:
“Well, at least thanks to your lack of cooking skills, I’ve managed to avoid getting any lifestyle diseases.”

And he adds, “All paintings are pretty much the same. What really matters is for artists to live long and stay healthy—then they’ll have a better chance at success.”

We laugh, clink our glasses again, and celebrate in our own way.