We made a nearly four mile loop through the woods surrounding Sandy Pond in Lincoln. It was a new walk for us — meant to be special and it was. Until we got near the DeCordova Museum, we saw almost no one. Crows cawed, a couple small planes passed overhead, and now and then, the Amtrak whistle sounded from a few miles off.
Once back home, we left Finn so we could eat out. Lunch at a restaurant with outdoor seating and small plate offerings did the trick. The sun was bright. The food was good, especially the fish tacos and homemade potato chips.
Earlier, I had offered to buy him a cashmere scarf but he said he likes the one he already had, which I’d also given him, did I remember? After we finished eating, he suggested we stroll over to one of the jewelry stores a few doors down. Nah, I said. I don’t even really wear earrings anymore.
So that’s it. Our 32nd anniversary! It is sunny and unseasonably warm today, not unlike the day we were married. Our wedding was about a mile from here. Seventy people. It was okay. Lukewarm food, a space broken up awkwardly so that there was a feeling of innies and outies, lackluster dancing, and meh toasts. On the other hand, our rehearsal dinner was really special.
For one thing it was in a teeny, rustic restaurant at the end of Bearskin Neck in Rockport, a favorite place for both our families. It was intimate, joyful, and relaxed. People ate either lobster or mussels and both were delicious. There was no anxiety about performance or socializing. No endless posing for pictures. We often wish that had been the whole deal.
Too late now.
This year, there’s a sense of being past the grand gesture. What a relief!
The things that trigger gratitude about being together this year are both simple and essential. I am glad we’re both alive (K had another funky-looking mole removed yesterday). I’m glad we both still can walk (and kick through fallen oak leaves!) I’m glad I know how to make a really tasty carrot cake and that we want to eat it at a similar pace.
Tempo is everything, right?
Wonderful, celebratory fall photos 🤗💖
It’s been such a beautiful fall here this year.
congrats! I love your understated humour/+/honesty….we’ve been married for 26 years and have never been happier, we’re not really into celebrations, just try to make every day together ‘okay’
There were years when the gestures mattered to me. I’m so glad the simple stuff is enough now.
Thirty two years of traveling the road together, the smooth, the bumpy, the unexpected turn in the road…love to you both for holding together. Grand gestures are easy and while suitable for the decade anniversaries, I will always take the non-decade ones and the silly, unexpected moments that say, I was thinking of you and want to share…or want to show…or want to give…it takes a lot of work to hold together but the work is the value and those off us, long timers, (52 years for us) never take any of it for granted.
I raise my cup of eggnog, with a mere smidgen of Irish, because we had snow flurries today and it is bitingly cold. To You and K and more carrot cake and walks in your lives…
Thank you so much Marti for the toast. I don’t think I take much for granted. Especially in the health arena. I only have two decades to catch you!
Sounds like my kind of celebrating .. being happy healthy and filled with old memories while looking forward to the new ones to come. My God that carrot cake looks absolutely heavenly .. it’s one of my favorite cakes!! Happy Anniversary 😘
Thanks, Tina! I’ve made a few carrot cakes over the years but this one was especially good.
Congrats … may you have many more low-key memorable celebrations in the years to come!
This is what I most love about blogging (both the reading and the writing) …
Thank you, Liz!
Happy 32 years! So nice to hear about your lovely day.
How perfectly lovely this celebration sounds. Low key, deeply connected for all the best reasons and filled with nature, gratitude, good eats…and each other. Blessings to you two as you continue the journey. xo
Thanks Nancy. PS I’m enjoying my paper-Foldie thing! Muscle memory from fourth grade is something to behold.
Congratulations to you both, again and always!!
I don’t know anyone who puts together better, deeper, or more symbolically meaningful celebrations than you and your family.
Your wedding was a very special day, Dee. I recall many details. One is the single word prompt that each guest received, hand-written, on a lovely little piece of paper that we were each to build into a message for you and K – and to speak out loud on the spot. It was all amazingly beautiful. No needless frills, but many wonderful cumulative experiences of goodness and an honoring of our highest spirits to try to match yours (lots of hearts).
That was at your wedding, right? LOL
I do not recall the food, but it had to have been great. I remember the flowers and many of the people. And your gown.
AND I still have that postcard/invitation of you two on the bulletin board in my office. Do carry on D&K, and forever!
from NJ with love –
xoxo
M
Thank you for an alternate remembrance! I recall one guest saying it was the nicest JP officiated wedding she’d ever been too. And it was a gorgeous day.
Congrats and pass the carrot cake!
Thanks Laura and wish I could pass you a slice! We could listen to some of your music and talk quilts and writing.
It’s taken me a couple of days but this post just moved me to tears for the most obvious reasons. Here’s to finding comfort in being past the grand gestures. Those last two pictures. You have known each other forever! That’s a story worth telling. And your wedding picture! The most outrageous and beautiful bouquet I’ve ever seen.
This probably sounds lame, but I wish Jimmy was still around for you.
Not lame at all. So very kind.
Me too.