This is one of my Christmas gifts: a ping-pong table.

Michael had a very sweet response when I acted very surprised to get a ping pong table.

He said: I saw how much fun you had when you played ping-pong with your sister on the cruise.

Michael continues to surprise me with how thoughtful he is and how much he cares for me.

So now, we play at least a few minutes every day.   The table sits between the kitchen and living room.

The table doesn’t go with the decor.  Well, really, we have no decor.  Unlike most of our neighbors, we chose not to update our place after we had already paid thousands of dollars in assessments. So, we still have old floors and cheap furniture.

We decided not to invest too much money on it.  We buy whatever we need to be comfortable.  I am so glad that Michael and I are on the same page about expenses.  We both rather spend money on experiences and not material stuff.

Today, I found out that another couple in the building is getting divorced.  I think the stress and cost of the building renovation is one of the causes of these breakups. It is important for couples to be on the same page with finances, and how they choose to spend their money.

Next month it will mark 3 years that Michael and I are together.  We are not sure how we will be celebrating it.  Perhaps a cruise, perhaps skiing (if Colorado manages to get some snow), perhaps a casino, or we can always play ping-pong 🙂

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” ― Marcel Proust