Eight years

Last week, Rich and I celebrated eight years of marriage.  To each other.  When I arrived home from work that evening, a bouquet of fall flowers greeted me.  Emily then informed me that Daddy had made a special video of pictures for us to watch.  And then Anna started bawling because Emily wasn't supposed to tell me about the video so I had to say, "What video?  Emily didn't tell me about a video.  I don't know what you are talking about."

Rich's video was full of pictures that I'm very familiar with but seeing all those pictures together confirmed that eight years are eight years.  We definitely are not the same people we were eight years ago but we've changed together.  Our marriage has weathered the death of a baby, the birth of triplets, caring for a child with medical needs and unemployment (times 3).  

Rich and I asked my parents if they would watch the girls overnight on Saturday at their house, which would allow us some kid-free time.  The request was twofold in that not only did we wanted to spend some time alone, but I've been feeling a bit burnt out and I was hoping that a mini-break in responsibilities would relieve some stress.  We dropped the girls off that afternoon and then drove to Hingham.  It was a bit early for dinner so we shopped at Old Navy.  With a coupon and a rewards certificate, I picked up a bunch of weekend wear (including a new, much needed fleece) for $46.




We had wanted to eat dinner at a nice but not overly expensive restaurant.  Someplace we had never been to before.  Are you an NKOTB fan?  Ever heard of Mark Wahlberg?  One of Donnie and Mark's brothers is a chef and Alma Nove in Hingham is his restaurant.  I had read many good reviews and Rich's sisters happened to have eaten there a few weeks earlier.  Okay, so even if you remove the whole Wahlberg factor, it was delicious.  I had pumpkin cheesecake for dessert and it was the best cheesecake I've ever tasted.

       

After dinner, we returned to an empty, quiet house and watched Slumdog Millionaire, which we had borrowed from my brother-in-law.   (We are about 5 or 6 years behind in movies and books.)  Even though the girls would have been sleeping at that point, it felt really odd and unsettling not having them there in the house.  I didn't want to say anything to Rich though.  I didn't have to; he felt the same exact way.  Being a parent is never easy.

So while we did enjoy our time alone and sleeping in my bed for the entire night was wonderful, I was so very happy to see my little loves the next day.