Well....

My first "Mother's Day" was fun-- a bunch of family & friends went out of their way (including ya'll) to wish me a "happy"... it was kind of cool, cause when I am a mother, I won't get nearly that many calls. :) But we went to Andrew's parent's house and had a very nice family dinner, and other than that it was a very restful day, which I seriously needed after a busy four or so days with the bake sale & everything. Lots of rest was had yesterday.

Did I mention to you all that yesterday was also Andrew & My Anniversary? We've been married 12 years! It doesn't seem like that long, but then again it seems like forever. I guess it's that soul mate thing-- we're so comfortable that it just gets hard to remember what it was like to not have each other around.

12 years ago today we started out on our Honeymoon. I had planned it from ads in some bridal magazine; we went to this little hotel in Dalhonega Georgia to this little group of cabins out in the foothills. We saw a smallish waterfall, did some wandering about in an antique area of the local town. We were near the "Cabbage Patch Kids" Babyland General hospital-- you could take tours to see the CPKs being "born"-- which we passed on. The first night we were there we got in very late after driving from Pensacola, where our wedding was, to Dalhonega. On the freeway near Atlanta, in a bunch of traffic, a dog wandered out a few cars ahead of us and after being hit by the cars ahead of us, was pushed under our car. Maybe because of that, maybe something else, we had a serious flat tire a bit later after stopping for lunch at a Denny's. After a few hours (Sunday at a Freeway pitstop!! We were lucky to get anyone!) we were on the road again. The little honeymoon cabin had lace canopy beds and its own private jacuzzi. There was a little living room area with board games and a little journal that honeymooners had signed over the years. We got a little fruit basket with a special bottle of champagne with our names and the date on it-- I saved that bottle for years.

The day after our arrival we had to move to another cabin cause the honeymoon one had been booked before I called-- but the cabin we moved to was bigger, and had a kitchen. It was much less romantic and more the family-type cabin with several bedrooms & a sort of "Uncle Buck" feel to it. What was really funny about it was that at a cabin just down the road (we couldn't see it through the trees but could hear it!) there was a church group staying that had nightly "firewalking" events. They would bang drums and play guitar and whoop loudly like Indians. We joked about making sure the doors were well-locked and "circled the wagons."

In retrospect, I could have planned a better honeymoon trip. This was a fairly inexpensive one, and not spectacular. I'm sure it's lovely under the best of conditions, but the year we were there, the resort had suffered from a winter storm and the pool was closed, the tennis court in very shabby condition. The horses we rode were surly; mine farted every step it took. I got my sunscreen in my eyes and had to turn back before the trail ride really got started. The town nearby was not really our thing. But really, as far as honeymooners go, you just want to be alone together anyway, and it doesn't really matter where you are. We saw it as a funny experience, and did not let the things that didn't work make us any less than happy. This has been a trend our whole marriage-- we don't let the small stuff get us down.

We were happy, and in love, and the problems really were minor. Since we've been married, we've gone on several trips that are more what people expect on a honeymoon-- three weeks in London, a long weekend in Hawaii over the fourth of July and fireworks, a long weekend in Anchorage AK last year where we took a scenic train ride and had a great time. I don't feel I've been shortchanged at all. I'd much rather spend the time with the two of us lying in the hammock in our green, cool-breeze filled back yard, with my cat wandering around in the grass hunting for lizards and us drinking two cool margaritas.

Soon, we'll have two little ones racing around eating bugs, terrorizing the cat (serves her right for all those years of lizard torturing) and needing to be rescued from mishaps, but the change is welcome. It's been a great twelve years, and I look forward to the next twelve!