It seems ages since I last blogged! I'm not sure what to type about today but I'm sure something will come to mind.
I was thinking of writing about our wedding anniversary that is coming up in October. We will have been married 25 years. Yes, it will be our silver wedding anniversary and I can't quite believe that that is possible. That means that we have been living together for 27 years this November.
I was thinking about all that we've been through as a couple, about our losses and our traumas, about our holidays and good times. It's very, very easy to take someone who is always around you for granted. How often do we only realise how much we miss someone when they aren't there anymore?
When we first got together...all those years ago!... there were many of my hubby's acquaintances who told him to be wary, to not get too involved, even that I was a gold-digger!! Yes, really, me, a gold-digger? I may be many things but I'm not that. In retrospect I can understand their concerns - he was a single, unmarried man without responsibilities and I was the opposite - lots of baggage.
Whilst he listened to his friends and their concerns, hubby followed his heart and took me on. He was certain that we should be together...after all, we had first dated when I was 17 and he was 19 and he felt we were meant to be together. Always the sentimental, emotional one!
Well, nearly 25 years later here we are. Still together. Of course we have had our issues and problems. I doubt there are many couples who haven't wondered what the heck they are doing together from time to time. We have weathered our storms. We have completely different ideas about just about everything from parenting to holidays, from exercise to cooking. There has been a lot of give and take and a lot of accepting of each others ideas over the years. We still drive each other mad and I'm sure that he does things all the time to deliberately wind me up but we have grown to understand each other very well.
Ours has not always been the most dynamic of marriages and there have been lots of tears and frustration on both sides but are we happy? Yes, I think we are. Do we love each other? Yes, we do. Do I hope that we get to celebrate our golden wedding anniversary just like his Mum and Dad did? Yes I do. I don't think there is much else to say, is there?
Last weekend hubby and I went to the beach hut together. This is most unusual. We both concede that the hut is 'mine' and that I get such pleasure from it that I am very protective of it regarding who goes there without me! As a couple we have visited the hut 3 times now.
Anyway, last Saturday, after I finished work, we went down to Hayling Island and stayed in The Langstone hotel overnight. We had fish and chips in the seafront chippy and then had ice cream and then had cinder toffee. I then, about an hour later, developed terrible stomach ache. No surprise really after seeing what I had consumed. Suffice to say that for about an hour I was unable to stand up straight. I had so much pain that I didn't know what to do with myself. Eventually the spasmodic pain subsided and we had an early night which was great because we both woke up refreshed and ready to go on the Sunday morning.
We ate a hearty breakfast which we were able to enjoy without a hint of the usual hangover that accompanies a night away and set of to the hut.
It was a beautiful sunny morning and so we changed into our swimming gear and went swimming...in the sea....and it was fabulous. Freezing but fabulous. I can't remember the last time that I swam in the sea in the UK but it was a long, long time ago.
As I was attempting to stay afloat I had a fleeting thought of Mum. She used to love sea swimming. I felt that she would have been smiling, looking down at her slightly eccentric eldest daughter doing exactly what she used to do and loving it.
A few pics of our day
We headed home in the afternoon via Stansted Park Sussex which was a place that I had seen signposted often but had never visited. What a find! There was ample free parking, a farm shop, a wonderful tea room/cafe which produced wonderful crab sandwiches and freshly squeezed orange juice which we happy indulged ourselves in.....
There was also a maze and a children's play area and picnic place. All of the entrance to these bits was free. There was a charge to go into the actual house and the house overlooked a cricket pitch which memserised hubby so much that I thought he was going to volunteer to umpire.
My favourite part of the visit was going into the chapel in the grounds. I love going into churches and chapels. I find them so peaceful. This one was no different. Although only small, it had real character and some beautiful stained glass windows. There was a lovely old gentleman there who was a font of knowledge and information on the house and the area and the chapel in particular. I could have talked to him for hours.
If you're ever in the area I highly recommend a visit...and dogs are welcome too which is a bonus.
www.stanstedpark.co.uk
I think that's probably enough for now. I'm sure there is lots else I could be doing instead of sitting here boasting about what I have been doing and how long I have been married!
Hope you are all enjoying the wonderful September sunshine. Long may it last.
Until next time...
A xxx
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