by Melanie
(Sheridan, Wyoming, USA)
Just us!
I am in the fuzzy world between sleep and the first eye flutters of the morning. I slowly open one eye and close it again. No, I’m dreaming. I listen for the sound of the children waking up, crying, the dog wanting out... but I only hear the soft sound of waves lapping on the shore.
Wait a second....
For a moment I feel guilty, wonder if the kids are okay, if they are sad, if they miss us. Then I remember that we are here for them too, to remember our marriage and each other for one week out of their life. So I push those guilty feelings down and open my eyes.
My best friend is next to me in bed, the one who I met so many years ago on a whim, at a bar, on a date with someone else.
It’s hard to remember what to do in the morning when you don’t have bottles to fix, pop tarts to serve, cartoons to find on the TV and kids to shuttle off to school on what never seems like enough sleep. I lay there for a second unsure of this new feeling, but it is like a familiar friend I knew long ago.
I creep out of bed, open the curtains and literally gasp. My breath caught in my throat. We arrived at night and had no idea what the daylight held. I forget about the plan to not wake my husband and yelled “COME HERE!!” as he jumps out of bed looking like someone might be on fire.
“You’ve got to see this!!” I say. Then we both stand there staring out at the breathtakingly blue, clear waters of Meads Bay. “Is this real?” He asks.
“What do you want to do today” I ask.
“Let’s get married...again”
We order breakfast to enjoy on our balcony overlooking the beach. Fresh fruit, pastries and delicious coffee. No where to be, no deadlines, no phone calls....bliss.
After breakfast we don our swimsuits and head to the beach. I take a book, but it’s hard to concentrate on anything with the view in front of you, so instead we just let the sun warm our insides. A feeling we miss 8 months out of the year at home.
We decided to go for a drive and end up at the colorful restaurant on wheels “Hungry’s” for lobster quesadillas. Yummm. We decided on this trip that everything we ate would be very “non-western," coming from Wyoming there is lots of beef, buffalo, elk and deer! We both love seafood and it’s often expensive and not fresh, so we made sure every meal we ate in Anguilla was full of seafood! We don’t need fluff or glitz, just good food. Luckily there is plenty of that on Anguilla.
I realized that it was getting close to the time we planned for renewing our vows. So we headed back to our suite to get ready. I laid out the little white dress I had so carefully picked out and memories of our wedding day came flooding back.
I was so young, so excited and filled with anticipation of what the day would bring. Surrounded by our family and friends then, today was very different, but in a good way. That wedding was about everyone else, this one was about us. Just us. I sent my husband out to greet our minister while I finished getting ready.
It was time and they were waiting for me.
I took a slow walk down to the beach and came around the corner to see my husband waiting for me at the water’s edge. I didn’t expect to be nervous or to feel so giddy. The emotion caught in my throat and realized it had been so long since I felt this way.
I looked at my husband and he smiled his natural smile that meant it’s all good. We exchanged vows under the low setting sun and promised our lives to each other...again. It was perfect.
We walked hand in hand to our reserved, beach side table at The Straw Hat restaurant to celebrate our new union. We sat in the candlelight, feasted on snapper, tuna and spring rolls while the wine flowed and we laughed....a lot!
We will remember this evening for the rest of our lives. It will carry us through the times in life we’d much rather forget. There are lots of those times and we’ve lived through many. The important thing is to cherish those around you, take time for each other and love. You never know what tomorrow will bring.
Next time we will bring the kids! :)
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