Lace Free After Thirty Years!

I threw my suitcase on the bed and began to pack for the mini-vacation my husband and I were taking. This wasn't just any vacation though. This was a celebration of our enduring love. Thirty years of marriage under our belts. That's a lot of years. No wonder my jeans are a bit more snug than they used to be. And to think I blamed it on potato chips and ice cream.

Thirty years of marriage. I know it sounds cliched but where did the years go? It seems like just yesterday that we were planning our wedding reception at the local American Legion Hall complete with crepe paper streamers and daisy bouquets. Thirty years later daisies are still my favorite flower.

Hitting the 30th wedding anniversary is cause to pause and reflect. How can we be celebrating thirty years of marriage? We are not THAT old. I have seen the pictures of people in the paper who are celebrating their thirtieth anniversary and they look like grandparent material. Oh,yeah that's right. I am going to be a Grammie in March. Yahoo!

How did we get to this stage in life so quickly? Celebrating thirty years of being married to my best friend has been equivalent to riding the Himalaya Roller Coaster ride at Disney. We have whooshed forward at breakneck speed, hit a few bumps along the way and occasionally felt that we were being thrown for a loop. But through it all we have leaned on each other for support, held on tightly when we needed reassurance and celebrated small accomplishments, achievements and our love and friendship with hugs, kisses and wild abandon.

Thirty years ago we danced to Billy Joel's 'Just the Way You Are' and those lyrics have held true through the years. We have never tried to change each other. Okay, maybe I have encouraged my buddy to try to improve a few little imperfections but it was always done with a smile. Well, most of the time.

So here we are thirty years later. As I packed my suitcase I thought about how the world has changed. In 1978 we didn't have personal computers, cell phones, DVDs or Cd's. A gallon of regular gas cost $.63 ! We couldn't afford to stay in a hotel so we went camping in Nova Scotia for our honeymoon. We realized mid-honeymoon that our tent had a bunch of pinhole size holes which would only be an issue if it rained. And it rained -hard. My resourceful husband found a sail maker who repaired our tent - for free. There are good people in the world.

As I packed for our 30th honeymoon I was reminded once again how life has changed. I packed my reading glasses which weren't necessary when I was twenty-one years old. I packed my prettiest bra. Back in the seventies I rarely wore a bra, few of my friends did in those days of liberation. I threw a sweater in my bag - sometimes I get chilly when I am in restaurants. I think I am becoming my mother!

As I decided on appropriate nightwear, I was reminded of a boss of mine, Elaine, from thirty years ago. The girls at the office held a bridal shower for me. As I opened a sheer negligee made of lace and little else, Elaine commented that I should just save it until I was married for thirty years because that is when I would really need it. Sorry, Elaine, you were wrong. Maybe I'll need it after sixty years of marriage but I doubt it.

First stop on our anniversary tour...Shelburne, Vermont.