Thirty-Two Years and Counting ...

Wes and I just got back from a mini-vacation celebrating our 32 years of marriage. It was wonderful ... and relaxing ... and fun ... and we both were really pouty on the day we got home because we wanted to go back. It's amazing how after all these years of being married that we still find ourselves learning so much about each other.

As an example, Wes learned that I am a huge hotel snob. We stayed in a small motel for the first two nights of our trip. Wes thought it was old, but decently clean. I, on the other hand, commented about how it looked JUST like the Bates Motel in Psycho ... tore up the beds to inspect the mattress and sheets when we first walked in the room ... refused to allow our suitcases to be put on the bed and insisted on putting any of our sleeping clothes into a tightly sealed laundry bag immediately upon getting up. Yes, the motel was old (older than both Wes and I, I'm thinking), was semi-clean (there were spiders and some icky things in the bathroom), but we managed to survive ... particularly when we wound up at an adorable, wonderful, and perfect bed and breakfast for the next two nights.

I learned that my husband honestly and truly hates to have his picture taken. Through the years, we've laughed at how Wes will "smile" for the camera -- meaning he just stares at the camera until the picture is taken. If he actually DOES smile, that's probably an accident and meant for something other than the picture-taking. I also learned that my husband loves me more than he hates to have his picture taken, so he very nicely posed a few times while I had the camera in his face.

Wes learned that I am absolutely and totally indecisive when it comes to choosing a restaurant. For some reason, that's a decision that is beyond my capability. He'd ask me where I'd want to go and I'd almost panic. If he suggested a possible restaurant, I'd be only too quick to agree, but choose a place on my own? Not possible ...

I learned that my husband thinks I'm cute, even when the wind catches my dress and it blows up around my face and I flash my pretty yellow panties to all of the people walking on the street behind me. I also learned how kind he was when he assured me that probably no one even noticed. Yes, it was a big, fat lie, but wasn't he sweet?

It was nice to take the time to just be together -- to see that we still "liked" each other after all of these years of having kids in our house -- to laugh and think we were hysterically funny, even though no one else seemed to quite understand our humor. We've said over the years that we've pretty much done absolutely everything wrong in our relationship, but because of God's grace it's all worked out. Well, God's grace and two hard-headed people who were determined to make the relationship work.

It was a wonderful time, and we're already talking about where we want to go for our next anniversary get-away. Never too early to start planning, right? And as long as we stay in a nice place, I don't have to choose a restaurant, and Wes doesn't have to have his picture taken a gazillion times, we'll be good. Actually, even if those things all DO (or don't) happen, we'll still be good. After 32 years of learning together, there's always something new to discover.