Anniversary Weekend

Tomorrow, Terrell and I will celebrate 7 years of marriage. 7!! For some reason that seems waaaay longer than 5 or 6. Ha. At times, these past 7 years feel more like 17. Like we've been together forever. But at times it's also hard to believe it's been 7 years. 7 years ago tomorrow, we were saying our vows and getting married and starting our new life together. How is it possible its been that long? Crazy.

Anyway, on to our weekend. Every year since we've been married we've planned an anniversary trip/getaway to celebrate. It's our gift to each other and something we look forward to every year. Time away. Time alone. Time to sleep late. Ahhh. It's the little things.

This year was different though. Really different. This year we decided to stay home and have an anniversary staycation. It's what the budget allowed and we'd still have time for lots of things we never get to do... go out on dates, sleep late, shop, go out to breakfast, watch movies, carry on long uninterrupted conversations, etc. Even though I was nervous about staying home and missing the boys (who would be with my parents for the weekend) and feeling like I should be cleaning or something, I was really looking forward to a weekend with my hubby to do whatever we wanted to do.

Unfortunately, things didn't turn out exactly like we'd planned. Far from it I'm afraid. In the words of my husband, "Well this weekend has turned out to be a total bust." Sad but true.

I took the boys to B'ville Friday morning and got them settled and half our house unloaded at my parents' and got back on the road to Covington sometime between 12:30 and 1:00. Leaving Austin wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. I was sort of convinced I might cry all the way home. Thankfully, I felt really at peace about leaving both of my babies in good hands and tried not to dwell on Austin thinking I abandoned him.

By the time I got home Terrell was off work, because he took a half day of vacation, and we had decided we'd have a lazy afternoon together and watch the first "segment" of the Hatfield's and McCoy's before going out on a date to Long Horn... despite the fact that my hubby's back had started giving him trouble the day before. Oh no.

(Terrell has had back trouble for years. He's had several doctor's visits, x-rays, an MRI, the epidural shots, you name it. Everything short of surgery. So whenever he re-aggravates it, it's usually pretty serious.)

Even though he was uncomfortable, my hubby was a trooper and decided he was fine with going out to eat and he was fine with renting a movie for later because he knew he could stretch out and feel some relief while we watched a movie. So Friday night went really good for the most part. (Although I did miss the boys... being at our house wasn't enough of a distraction for me. Everything made me think about my babies and stuff I needed to do around the house. I think we've decided we won't do another staycation for our anniversary.) Anyway, as of Friday night we thought his back was going to get better and better, and we'd go out to breakfast the next morning and go out shopping and then go to Olive Garden for dinner Saturday night. Just like we'd planned all along.

Too bad none of what we thought was going to happen actually happened. Terrell woke up feeling worse and was staying off his feet and flat on his back as much as possible. We got Chick-Fil-A take out for breakfast (still a treat!) before deciding there was NO way Terrell could ride in a car, walk around shopping with me, and ride in a car some more. So he stayed home and watched a lot of TV and did a little laundry and I went shopping by myself. Which was really nice since I never get to do that, but I was missing my husband and his company and missing my kiddos because our once-a-year weekend without them was starting to seem like a waste.

Saturday night was tough. We did go out to eat but Terrell couldn't fully enjoy himself because of being in pain and by that point I wanted to go pick up the boys early. Neither one of us were having any fun. We were pretty pitiful. I was pouting. Terrell was hurting. I didn't know how to make Terrell feel better. He didn't know how to make me feel better. It was blah. And disappointing.

But looking back, it was truly a blessing that the boys weren't with us this weekend. Terrell was totally out of commission. I would have been pulling double duty plus trying to take care of Terrell, plus trying not to lose my mind.... which almost happened tonight when I got home with the boys and was trying to get all 4 of my babies (Terrell, Garrison, Austin, and Bailey) fed and taken care of. Whew. And the boys had a great time with Granna, Papa, and AnAn. They got to have lots of play time, lots of attention, and lots of fun. They were fine without us and I know it was best that they weren't here.

Even though this weekend was a huge bummer, we still got to sleep late and watch 2 movies and go out to eat twice and talk a lot and just spend time together. We wished things would have turned out differently but it wasn't all bad. We joked that we'll look back and always remember our 7th anniversary and how crazy it turned out. If nothing else, memories were made.

Now we have a goal of getting a doctor's appointment as soon as possible tomorrow. Because instead of Terrell's back getting better and better, it's gotten worse and worse. Please pray for him. It's been a long couple of days and he's ready to feel some relief and get back to normal. And I miss my husband! It's times like these I appreciate him and all he does soooo much. Happy Anniversary to a wonderful husband and daddy!!! I love you more and more every year!