Flowerpots...

I took some great pictures of Flowerpot Island and Tobermory when hubs and I were there for a 2 night getaway...sans enfants!  But of course, my computer won't read my memory card.  So no pictures for my blog.  :(

Anyway....we went to Tobermory for 2 nights, and had a fabulous time!  We wandered "the Tub" and ate at a few little restaurants, and we took a boat over to Flowerpot Island.  It's an island about 6 km off the mainland, that has naturally occurring "flowerpots" carved out of the limestone by the waves of Georgian Bay.  We hiked the island, visited the lighthouse, the marl bed and sat on the rocky shore watching the water and the waves.  Georgian Bay is good for the soul.  So is Lake Huron.  Heck, any of the Great Lakes!

It was a much needed getaway, the kind that every long marriage needs from time to time.  The kind that we are not good at taking.  Of course, I worried about the kids and whether my house would be standing when we got home (it was) and what kind of drama would unfold in our absence.  I managed to set it aside for the most part.  Little art galleries, touristy shops, outfitters, diving shops and lots of walking around, and down the boardwalk. 

I am never happier than when out on the water, or sitting on the shore contemplating the waves.  I would love to live on the water.  Someday, someday.  It was delightful to spend time alone with my hubs, talking about our plans for the future, the kids, careers...all of the things that couples discuss. 

And we did return home to teenage drama (of course!), but it was soon resolved--as much as teenaged drama can be.  The pets were all alive and in one piece and very glad to see Mom.  It's just not the same when Mom is away!  The house was unscathed (thank you Jess!), and the dishes were even done.

Next getaway planned--fall yurt camping!  For my hubs 44th birthday.  Looking forward to spending more time in nature, this time on Lake Huron, at a provincial park.  And I will get pictures again, and hopefully the computer will read the card :)  I may try my daughter's laptop and see if I have anymore luck with it.  If I can get pics on any computer I will upload them--the beauty of Ontario nature must be shared!

Oh--and on the way home, we stopped by a potter's studio.  We bought a cream and sugar from the same potter not long after we were engaged 21 years ago, which over the years and through 3 kids gradually were broken beyond repair.  This time we bought a set of 3 small dishes, it was so nice to be able to buy something from him again.  His daughter is also a potter, and if she's in studio the next time we head up the peninsula we're going to check her work out too.  If you're ever in Wiarton, go see Don Dubois at his studio--it's a beautiful converted barn, and his work is gorgeous.

20 years is a long time

Today, on the winter solstice is the 20th anniversary of my marriage to my husband.  20 years!  That's long time, no matter how you count it.  In human years, dog years, or married years 20 is a big number.  It has been an eventful 20 years.  Lots of laughing, crying and sometimes even yelling.  Ok, maybe a fair bit of yelling, but mostly in the first 10 years.  You know, when we were raising young kids, suffering from sleep deprivation and a severe lack of funds.  But we got through it in one piece, and I would even go back and do it all over again.

We have 3 wonderful children, and on August 8th every year we ponder what would have been.  We have been married almost as long as we weren't!  In 2 short years I will have been married as long as I wasn't.  How many of my generation can say that?  And all to the same man.  How do you quantify what another means to you?  We can count it in years.  But how do you express that our lives are so intertwined and woven together that I'm not sure where I end and he begins. 

Sometimes marriage is like a favourite sweater.  You look forward to snuggling up in it after a long hard day out in the world, sometimes you think it needs some mending, and on other days you think it stinks and needs a good wash.  But like an old sweater that you love, you dig it out and put it on and revel in the comfort.  There's no itchy tags to contend with, no pretence, and frankly if there's a spill, you know you can deal with it.

I suppose having been married for 20 years officially puts us in the old people club.  Who has been married 20 years, except someone's parents?  I consider the enthusiasm of the newly married with some envy.  But I still prefer the comfort of my old marriage.  The wrinkles have been worked out, we finish each other's sentences and he knows what I'm thinking before I think it.

This morning on facebook my husband asked if I was up for another 20 years.  He can count on it.  I'm in if he's in, I can't imagine it any other way.

I'm not the most demonstrative of people, PDA makes my skin kind of crawl.  So he will know what a huge deal it is for me to tell him how much I love him on my blog.  This is major people!

Happy anniversary honey, I do love you and I'm looking forward to the next 20 years.

By the way, I highly recommend getting married on the solstice.  It seems to work :)