Looking Back, Looking Forward

I knew I used the internet a lot, but I didn't realize how often until a bad lightening storm took my internet away. I've had plenty to write about, but no way to post my writing so I didn't write. I missed it.

During the past week I've had a chance to look back on a lot of things. A week ago today, Lee and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary. We had a quiet dinner in a nice restaurant and talked about life and love and held hands across the table and touched toes underneath. Every day I wake up so happy about the man waking beside me, and it feels like the kind of love that will still make me happy on our 33rd anniversary. And our 333rd (I plan for us to live a long time).

Over the weekend, we attended Lee's 10 year high school reunion. It was interesting. Fitzgerald is a unique place. Maybe everyone says that about the place they graduated. It's not all bad, not all good, just different. We saw people - it was nice to see some, I felt indifferent about others. I felt very glad we'd left town after school, but I was also glad the town was still there to come back to. It was a good dress rehearsal for my 10 year reunion next year. But this year, I was very content to be the girl on Lee's arm. I was proud to be his date, proud of who he has become and where I believe he is headed.

The past week also made me look forward. I spent two days at the beach with my mom and a handful of her friends. They are all teachers on summer break. I knew all of them to varying degrees, and had spent some social time with them - but never for an extended period. It was fun, and interesting. They are like me, in that they are professional women with friends. But they are at a different stage in life and I enjoyed watching them, getting a glimpse of what trips with friends may be like for me when I'm older. I learned that most of them have a little bit of arthritis, there were several mentions of the onset of dementia (mostly teasing), a lot of talk about home decorating and some chit-chat about children. There was the occasional bit of gossip, too. Some of the conversations mirrored chats with my friends, but without some of the drama that comes with immaturity. The subject matter might be similar, but my mom and her friends have learned things, come to terms with things, seem more sure of who they are and where they're going.

It has been a good week. In looking back, I'm thankful for my husband and even for Fitzgerald and the lessons learned there. I'm also hopeful for a good future, and looking forward to one day taking a beach trip with my girlfriends, sitting in the sand, talking about mild arthritis and furniture and my grandchildren, and looking forward to a happy, healthy retirement.