Today is my and Kara’s 15th wedding anniversary. Our tradition, since our first anniversary, has been to mark the occasion with cold pizza and good red wine.

Why, you ask?

Our wedding day, like most, was one of joyful chaos. We didn’t get to eat much at our reception, which we were told is typical. Consequently, when we got home that night, we were ravenous. But because we were planning to leave soon for a honeymoon, there was not much to eat in the fridge.

Except for a few slices of cold pizza. Which we promptly scorfed.

The following year, we’d planned a nice night out for our first anniversary. That plan was scuttled when I woke up feeling under the weather. I recovered my health and my appetite later that evening, but by then it was too late to go out. So we foraged in the fridge and found … cold pizza.

Thus a tradition was born.

Because this year’s anniversary is one that ends in a five or a zero, we have something special planned. An excellent brick-oven pizza with all of our favorite toppings awaits us in our fridge, as do desserts from local bakery Gian Piero. For our wine, we have a superb 2006 Fuligni Brunello di Montalcino that we’ve been saving for this occasion. To dress the table I procured a bouquet of 15 roses — one for each year of our marriage so far.

Here’s to many more wonderful years of cold ’za and vino fina. I love you, Kara.