15 Years and Counting

I love celebrating special occasions, but usually I'm the one doing the planning. This year was a major anniversary, so Kurt had done some planning of his own. He set the tone when he bought me a new wedding band. He tricked me into revealing which one I really liked and then he bought it. I didn't know how to keep up with that, so I found the photographer from our wedding, even though he'd gone out of business. I bought all the negatives and proofs. If the local photo place hurries up, I'll have some special pictures for Kurt's desks both here and at work. Kurt's birthday was our next holiday and I took him to the hot tub place. We hadn't been before--it was great.
Kurt's mom agreed to watch the kids for the weekend. The Amway Grand Plaza is as wonderful as everyone says it is. We felt so completely at home. Friday, we went ethnic eating at El Burrito Loco and Sami's Gyro. Everything was good. The Proposal was a fun film, but never really hit the sweet spot. We thought we'd watch an outdoor concert at Rosa Park's Circle, but a light drizzle turned into a downpour and running for it was our only option. Getting a manicure to show off my new ring had been the one important thing I hadn't been able to squeeze into my preparations. Since we had nothing better to do, Kurt sat with me as I got a full mani/pedi. Chocolate covered strawberries and sparkling juice were waiting in our room. Saturday, we slept in, then room service brought us a delicious breakfast. We hurried over to the Cathedral of St. Andrew to attend the midday mass. I'd never been to the cathedral, so I asked the priest to let us look around. We had to hurry because of a wedding--how perfect--but the cathedral is absolutely beautiful. As an artist I find so much support in the Catholic tradition. Our next stop was the Grand Rapids Art Museum. Our last visit was during our engagement. The collection was rather limited then, so we hadn't been back. This visit we were pleased to find the collection much improved and the new building is nice as well. They had great gifts for the kids, and then I needed to sit. I wanted to look cute on this mini-honeymoon and cute hurts. Kurt said to eat light, so we snagged a hot dog and some water for lunch. After a rest stop at the hotel, we went to Kurt's surprise destination--Charley's Crab. We'd last visited them on our fifth anniversary and it was the perfect moment to return. I had their excellent bouillabaisse with saffron. It was delicious and a little messy, but nothing a girl from Maryland couldn't handle. The rest of the evening we spent in the hotel's hot tub with a bunch of sisters from a family of eight. I had a lot of fun exploring their memories of growing up. Kurt alternated soaking with me and swimming laps in the adjacent pool. Our return to our room found more chocolate covered strawberries and sparkling juice and we were lucky to catch The Pursuit of Happyness on cable. Sunday we slept in, again, enjoyed room service, again, and finally prepared to return to home and the kids. A few ordinary errands had to be run, and then we were back to pick up the threads of our daily lives.
It was all just right, one of those rare moments when I wouldn't change a thing.