Ahhhh. The Hub and I got away for a long weekend without the kids to celebrate our anniversary. It was so needed. Not just for us but for the kids too. We reconvened a much happier group. The boys and our dog spent the weekend with my parents. Nana and PopPop. Nana and PopPop are rock stars. They are the end-all and be-all of grandparents. They are fun and take the boys everywhere they want to go. They adore our children and our children adore them right back. Nana and PopPop took the kids to the the local Wetlands Institute http://wetlandsinstitute.org/ where the boys got to pet flounder, skate, and horseshoe crabs. They also got to see an octopus get a crab out of a 2 liter soda bottle. Very cool stuff. They went to the beach and played in the sand and dug holes and chased the waves. They ate good they slept good and had a wonderful time. The dog even seemed happier. She followed my father everywhere he went.
The Hub and I went about 5 miles away from them to Cape May, NJ. We could fully relax and laughed a lot. We laughed at the bed and breakfast we stayed in. It was a little beat up and the coffee was horrible. We also think that our inn keeper was pulling tubes on a daily basis. We went to a bar and drank. I can’t tell you the last time I sat at a bar and drank with my husband. I think it was so long ago, you could still smoke at a bar. We trash talked about people. We walked around the town and ate really good food. We talked about how neither of us could imagine NOT having kids. We revisited the possibility of adopting another. Raising kids seems to give such a sense of love, a capacity of love that I never knew existed. We sat on the beach bundled up in jackets and we laughed a lot.
I have to say, I really, really like the man that I married 11 years ago. I think that he is probably one of the best human beings I know. He is kind, funny and caring. He is so smart and has accomplished so much in his life. We talked about whether or not 11 years ago, we could have pictured where we are now, with 2 beautiful kids, a dog and a cat (the same cat my husband found in 1993!) I think that I pictured something like that when we got married. But before I met him, I could not in my wildest dreams, have pictured the wonderful life we have now. I would have never thought that I would be this happy and in such a great place with such a great husband. I was not a happy person for a long time. I hid who I was and what I felt so that I would not feel vulnerable. I put myself in circumstances that made me miserable. When I decided I was worth it, and started making changes, The Hub came along and renewed my faith in love. I felt comfortable enough to be my authentic self with him. He made me feel safe. He still does.
So if you have the opportunity, get away with the one that you love. Remember why you fell in love. Stop the normal rush and crazy of every day and take a day or two or three just to be together and laugh and joke and feel at ease. There is nothing better. We feel renewed and refreshed. By the time we had to leave we missed the kids and were ready to see them. I am not too sure the kids were ready to leave Nana and PopPop, but they seemed genuinely happy when we were all back together.
I know this post is kind of sappy. But I did just get to spend three days and nights with one of my best friends who still turns me on and makes me laugh. Three days without interruption, without distraction and with each other. I am one lucky lady!
P.S. Thank you Nana and PopPop!
