Being Open to Life: Still Have Sand in My Shoes

So! Back home, spent all yesterday whittling down the pile of laundry (and taking lots of kissing breaks with my sweet baby) and restocking the fridge. You know, post-vacay stuff :).

My weekend with my husband was utterly amazing. I had no idea how much we needed it. Like I knew we really wanted to get away together, but it wasn't until we were driving out to Myrtle late Thursday night, our backseat strangely empty without its familiar carseat, the stars peering through the sunroof, leaning cozily on Jason's arm as he drove, just like when we were dating, that it hit me. I couldn't remember the last time we had had such a freeing, uninterrupted conversation.

That rare ability to suddenly be the sole object of each other's attention enabled both of us to open up so much this past weekend. Don't get me wrong, we sorely missed the hilarious interruptions we have become so accustomed to... But I think we definitely blossomed in the absence of all the constant life-threatening-choking- hazard rescues, desperate temper-tantrum appeasing, and happy babble interpreting.

It was really cool to spend time chatting with so many of Jason's colleagues and bosses. I love seeing how he is so well-respected by those he works with and for. And I loved seeing the ways in which he earns that respect by the manly, intelligent, polite way he conducts himself.

This weekend was a reminder that I totally married up :).

The major highlights for me of the weekend were simple. First, I had the best run of my life on Friday morning while Jason was in meetings. I was worried at first that I'd have nowhere to run, being that we were at a resort and usually resorts are not near neighborhoods. But I was shocked midrun to discover a huge ocean-front neighborhood next door. The houses were so cool - big green lawns with sprinklers on in the hot morning. I loved it. I told Jason, I live for running on vacation. It's the best way to experience the area in a totally different way.

And it was a PR for me - 6.25 miles in 55 minutes! (I don't even care if that's objectively in the slow side - I was flying y'all). The high from that run lasted me all day.

The second highlight was walking on the beach just me and Jason.

It's still early in beach season, so there were very few people out. The beach was really clean and so beautiful. I guess there is a huge difference between Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle, which is where our resort was. I was impressed. And even though I still probably will always prefer sweet little Carolina beaches like Edisto or Sullivan's, I did love how much North Myrtle reminded me of the big white sandy beaches I grew up on in Florida.

A third highlight was when my darling husband surprised me with tickets to see Titanic 3D at a theater nearby.

I had been whining to him for weeks about how much I'd have loved to see that, since I never saw it in Theaters before (I was wayyyyyyy too young for multiple scenes haha!)... And he had just made fun of me and - quite convincingly - acted as if he was totally uninterested.

So I was delightfully surprised that he had been planning this all along. (And the giant nerd in me found it goosebumpingly cool that we went to see it on the 100th anniversary of the actual sinking. Oooh still gives me shivers lol).

Finally, our quiet morning coffees at Starbucks were such a lovely highlight.

Even though we initially thought it would be amazing to sleep in all weekend, we found we could not turn off our internal clocks. We "slept in" til 7:30, and then we just gave up and found a seaside Starbucks a mile up the road.

We sat outside on the (almost) deserted patio every morning, read our favorite sections from the WSJ, listened to the sounds of the sea, and occasionally talked.

I loved every minute. I am so happy in my marriage. I am so grateful to have married a man whom I am so proud of in public, whose company makes even the most mundane things beautiful and memorable, and who strives to fulfill every silly little desire of my heart.

Oh and Will, who I was so worried about leaving, made out like a bandit. He was spoiled rotten and managed to pick up quite a bit more luggage for the drive home.