A Trip Down Memory Lane: 14 Years and Counting

This past weekend, Mr. S and I celebrated 14 years together as a couple. I like to think we’ll continue to commemorate our dating anniversary in some special way once we are officially Mr. and Mrs. After all, the date has been significant to us for a very long time, and it’s kind of a bummer to have to start all over at one again after we’ve racked up so many years under our belts. Still, I have a feeling our wedding anniversary will always get more special treatment.

We didn’t celebrate this year in any extravagant way. Actually, it was quite practical. We had dinner at Bacchus, a French bistro in Brooklyn that is at the top of the running to be the location of our rehearsal dinner. We just wanted to sample the food before we made the final call.

Fourteen years with Mr. S doesn’t really feel as long as it sounds. I mean, yes we’re not teenagers anymore and now we have rent, bills, and other semi-adult problems responsibilities. But at the heart of our relationship is still openness (there is no such thing as TMI between us), random goofiness, and an easy, familiar love.

On the left, our first picture ever taken together in 2000. On the right, us at a friend’s wedding in 2012.

During dinner, we reminisced about the year when we first starting dating. Recalling pop culture and current events of the time made us laugh and realize just how far away the year 2000 really is. I thought it would be fun to share with you, so cue the Twilight Zone music and join me in a little trip down memory lane to the year 2000:

For all the hoopla it sparked in 1999, we all survived Y2K.
The arrival of the DVD marked the beginning of the end for the VHS tape and Blockbuster’s need to remind us all to “Be kind, please rewind.” (Trips to Blockbuster were part of mine and Mr. S’s weekend ritual when we first started dating.)

Image via Wikipedia

Coyote Ugly, Meet the Parents, and the very first X-Men movie all made their debut in 2000.
Digital music and MP3s became a thing thanks to Napster.
The single that topped the charts in October 2000 was Christina Aguilera’s “Come On Over.” I owned this CD and still remember every word and riff to this track. I swear if I could just clear out all the useless lyrics that occupy much needed space in my brain, I’d be so much smarter. Like, telepathic.

Image via Christina Aguilera

Other musical classics from the time include “Say My Name” by Destiny’s Child, “Bye, Bye, Bye” by NSYNC, and “Who Let the Dogs Out” by The Baha Men.
Bill Clinton was president. George W. Bush would win the presidential elections in November 2000, beating out Al Gore (but not without some chad drama in Florida first).
The first season of Survivor premiered, birthing a new genre of TV: Reality. (Although I like to think MTV was years ahead of the other networks on reality TV with Real World.)

Image via Amazon

The average cost of one gallon of gas: $1.26.
The cost of a postage stamp: 33 cents. Forever stamps were not yet invented.

When you look at it that way, the year 2000 was a loooooong time ago. Blockbuster no longer exists and there are currently seven installments in the X-Men series. Napster no longer exists either, and CDs are obsolete. These days, we’re hard-pressed to find a show on TV that isn’t reality based. (MTV doesn’t even play music anymore, just awesomely bad reality TV shows.) And don’t even get me started on the current price of gas and stamps.

Aside from nostalgic, recounting the days our youth made me feel…what’s the word… fortunate, maybe? I mean, when I was 16 years old, I was sure my life could not get any better. My boyfriend was the superstar captain of the football team, I had tons of CDs to fill my Discman, I had a learner’s permit and an allowance. And yet, 14 years later, I look back at my teenage self and I want to tell her, “You silly girl, you don’t even know how amazing your life is going to get. You will be able to carry thousands of songs in this little device called an iPod. AND THEN! You will be able to listen to music, watch TV shows and movies, and have the internet on your CELL PHONE! You’ll live in the smallest apartment in the greatest city in the world where you will feel like you never have enough money and yet you will thrive in it. You’ll become so smitten with a 62 pound pit bull that you’ll even let him lick your lips sometimes. And that studly boyfriend? Well, he’s still just as studly as the day you met him. And he’s the real deal—the proverbial one. He will know you better than you know yourself, and you’ll spend the rest of your lives making each other sublimely happy.”

Photo courtesy of Clean Plate Pictures

I can only hope that my 44-year-old self has just as fantastic news to report from my future. Happy anniversary, Mr. S! Here’s to the past 14 years and the lifetime of years ahead of us!

What’s your favorite memory or pop culture fact from the early 2000s? Do you still celebrate or plan to celebrate your dating anniversary once you’re married?