Take Me To the Ocean

A few weeks ago, we got back from our first trip away without the kids.  It was a much needed getaway because it's like the kids forgot how to sleep this fall.   We went to Outer Banks.  We thought about all sorts of other places but I honestly couldn't get myself excited about going anywhere else (I just didn't get enough in May).  I also needed a trip that only required that I book a house and that's it.  I didn't even grocery shop before I left.  We needed this trip folks.

There was one afternoon where we took our lawn chairs and just sat on the beach.  We have often talked about doing this when we had the kids running around.  So, on our quiet trip, we just sat and watched the water and sky change from day to evening.  There is nothing in the world so calming as the ocean.

We went to movies, ate out, shopped, visited a lighthouse.  It was quiet and calm and we all need that in our life occasionally.

We discovered a Parade of Homes and decided to see some of the houses.  I've never seen a home with the kitchen on the top floor but that's how they all were.  We walked inside three million dollar beach houses.  It was beautiful, although I don't know that I'll ever understand really bold wallpaper.  While we were out driving, we saw one of the beach houses that we have rented in years past.  It was right in the line of the recent hurricane and the road in front of it was caved right in.  So crazy!

 Well, ten years is a pretty big deal. 

Celebrating Ten Years

Heber and I celebrated our tenth anniversary last week.  Ten just seems like such a big number.  People who've been married for ten years are old, right?  And yet, here we are.

I remember back to getting engaged.  We were so young but knew we were right for each other.    Who you marry determines the rest of your life, pretty much.  What your house is like, what your kids are like, where you live, even how happy you are.  Yes, I said it.  If you are unhappy in your most important relationship it's a rough road. 

In the weeks leading up to the date, there have been a series of big things that have reminded me even more of why we are together (because it is a choice to be happy together).  So, you all heard about the car accident a few weeks back.  For several days after the wreck, I was just so thankful that he was alive and ok.  So many things could have gone wrong and it made me think of what I would do without him, and I'm not sure I could do it.

A month ago my hard drive crashed.  It was pretty sad.  Heber spent three weeks putting the pieces back together.  He asked around for some software and worked on my computer night after night.  Together we watched the numbers of recovered data slowly (so agonizingly slow) climb.  He tried even after I lost hope it ever recovering anything until everything was recovered.  Three weeks to the day of the crash, all of the data was recovered.  He spent every free moment trying to bring things back together for me and that is just the type of person that he is.

We celebrated the day by planning a trip.  Ten seems momentus enough to get out on a vacation.  Especially after we spent our fifth anniversary in Istanbul.
 
So, we are heading out to the beach in October.  We thought and thought about where we'd like to go and the only place I really wanted to be was at the beach.  I wanted to listen to the water and just be for a few days.  I love a good busy, sightseeing vacation but at this moment in my life, I know that I need a true relaxing vacation.  My mom is heading over to watch the kids and I get the double bonus of having a few days to hang out with my mom, it's going to be great!

To mark the day, we went out to dinner at Trummers on Main in Clifton.  The restaurant was completely empty for half of our meal and felt like we'd rented the whole thing for us.  I guess most people don't go out to eat at 5:00 on Saturdays. 

 

 

I can't believe that we are here at 10 years and yet, it seems like I've known him forever.  Happy 10 years!