Marriage

Well, we're back.

It was a long weekend. A good weekend, just long. And it was hard. I'm exhausted. In fact I don't think I can remember ever having been so bone-weary exhausted in my entire life.

We left on Friday morning and drove the happy driving tour of South Carolina rest stops. The bonus was that we totally surprised his Dad which makes me ridiculously happy. We pulled in to the store parking lot just as Dad was walking from his car to the dumpster to dump some trash and he looked so surprised that I couldn't help but applaud! It was one of the best moments of the weekend.

We made the rounds of greetings and tried to set some plans. We headed to the house and unloaded the few bags that we brought with us and made some dinner plans. The Husband wasn't feeling so well so I got to pick and that means I got my Vinnies! It was a Friday night of a holiday weekend so the place was PACKED, so rather than wait for an hour for a table we got our slices to go (and a salad for the Boy--natch!) and drove over to Leopolds. We ate in the car--by this point I was so hungry that there was no talking it was just eat eat eat nom nom nom. We cleaned up and crossed the street for some creamy and delicious ice cream and then headed home all stuffed and happy.

That night was easy...we headed to bed at a reasonable hour and then up again Saturday morning. We did breakfast with The Husband's Grandma and then puttered around town. We hit Bass Pro Shop for the Husband's redneck needs and then a local golf shop--he's been shopping for golf clubs for a while now. We hung out at the store with the family for a bit until I was ready to cry from the TIREDS that ate the Wife. So it was back to the house where I napped for a few hours and then the Husband and I went to dinner.

I feel the need to digress a bit. The Husband has been friends with the same group of his friends since the seventh grade. I find this a bit difficult to wrap my head around. I have no memories of seventh grade, let alone friends. But they really are like family to him. And every year on Memorial day weekend they gather at a family owned beach house out on Tybee island where they sit and talk and eat and drink and swim all weekend long. This would be the annual Sausage Fest--and yes, it means exactly what you think it means. It started out as a core group of 5-6 boys and the occasional SEES would pop in and out. Over the years it's been increasingly infiltrated by the Girls (the girlfriends of the Sausages) but it's a tradition that continues on and on in spite of school and jobs and distance. (Please try to remember that the Wife? She is not a beach-person. She turns lobster pink in about 15 minutes of sun so the idea of spending a WEEKEND at the BEACH is a little bit--ok, painfully insane to her, but she loves the Husband who LOVES the beach so off they go. We don't sleep there and we rarely go during the heat of the day, but we always make at least one appearance.)

We didn't go to dinner Saturday night until late-ish. So by the time that we were done it was nigh unto 9:30. We were on our way back to the house for a Zantec--for the Husband, oddly enough--when we got the call from some friends that they were all heading to the P.G. house and how about we meet them there?! So off we go again! Now, I adore the Husband and I love this particular family so regardless of the Tireds that ate the Wife I was going to go with him.

Here is one of those little known facts about marriage. When one person wants to do something but the other one either doesn't want to OR feels like they CAN'T because of the Tireds that ate that person--the Tired person CAN stay home, but the other one will feel BAD and GUILTY and TORN and it will effectively suck all the pleasure out of that experience for that other person. So it's the better choice for the TIRED person to Take One for the Team and just GO so that the other person can wallow in the Love and be HAPPY.

We didn't get home until 1:30am. Do you know when I last stayed up until 1:30am of my own free will? I think MAYBE grad school? When I was studying for my oral exams? Maybe? Which would make it 3 years ago, now? It's not something I take pleasure in doing--I'm just not a night person. Anyway, I digress.

Sunday came and we did church and then helped clean up the house for the shower. I helped my lovely Sister in Law assemble 8 million little sandwiches and the Husband helped Dad. Now, where I come from, when you have a shower you invited say...30 people and about 30% of them show up. But in Savannah? With the Husband's family? If you invite 30 people. 30 PEOPLE WILL SHOW UP!!! So the house was packed.

It was great though. Crowded and loud and noisy but full of these people who really LOVE the Husband and helped to make him the amazing person that we all know and love. I was completely and totally overwhelmed but it was so great just to see everyone together and happy and so excited for this Boy to come into our lives that I just wanted to stand in the corner and cry for a bit. (The Crying came later, and in private, thank Heavens.) The food was amazing and everything was beautiful! I have pictures! Photo essay to come later!

We went out to the beach house that night after everyone--or most everyone, had headed home. And The Husband and his friends were all mellow and jolly and well fed and sun-kissed and happy. And yes, even though it was VERY late (again) the light was golden and everyone was safe and healthy and happy and in that moment everything else fades away and you realize how much you love that person--enough to set aside the Tireds and the Overwhelms and everything else and just sit and bask in the glow of that person in their natural habitat.

That's marriage.

So we finally go home. We go to bed. We get up and pack and load and say our good-byes. We climb back into our little yellow beetle and head for home. We get home, we unpack, we sort through the various gifts we got--laughing all over again over some of them--we wash clothes and faces and climb into Bed Sweet Bed with the cats and finally, finally, go to sleep.