25 years

25 years ago today I was getting ready to be married. I don't think I had slept much the night before but that's nothing new. I had purposely planned a 10:30AM wedding because I didn't want to be sitting around all day trying to figure out what to do with myself. I also wanted to have a small lunch rather than a bigger evening meal. And it's a good thing since the high temperature for the day was 98. In a church with no air conditioning and an outdoor reception. This is my formal apology to all who sweated during those hours. Spend the day today indoors. In the air conditioning. On me.

Two days ago our children planned a lovely day of activities. All we knew was that we were to keep the day open. The night before we were told that we had to be ready at 8AM and that the dress code was what we would normal wear. Oh, and that we didn't need comfortable shoes for walking. No other hints.

The schedule that only they knew existed

In the morning, it was obvious that something was up because teens and adult children who are usually not seen until noon were lined up for the bathrooms. Ready to go, I entered the living room only to be told, "Your gift for the day is that you and Dad get to spend the whole day alone....with Victor." I declared a mutiny. They changed their minds.

First stop was breakfast with Andrew, Sarah, Shoun, and Isaac. Apparently, Andrew had drawn the short straw and got stuck with breakfast. In reality, Jesse had originally drawn the short straw but because Andrew had to reschedule a dental appointment for Monday, he had to switch. And of course, while we were eating, the dentist's office called to say that they were canceling his appointment because the dentist was sick. Figures. But we had a wonderful time so thanks, guys!

We then went home for a short break while the next crew got ready. They didn't tell us where we were going but on the way The Good Doctor figured it out and started calling out directions. He was right. Miniature Golf with Mariana, Jake, Eden, and M.

Home again where we found HopeAnne loading toilet paper into the back of the car. My only guess was that our next location did not have restroom facilities???? So after a quick trip to the indoor facilities in the comfort of my own home, Jesse, Megan, and Hope led us to our next destination which was a picnic lunch that they had prepared to look like our 4th (or 5th) month dating anniversary. Back in the day I loved Big Macs (before learning about healthy eating and before my metabolism changed) so for this particular date the Good Doctor had somehow gotten rid of his roommate for the evening, bought us Big Macs and fries, placed a candle in a roll of toilet paper, and called it a celebration.

An hour later we were picked up and taken home for a short break before who should arrive at the door but my parents. They took us to City Island where we had a nice, relaxing ride with great company on the Pride of the Susquehanna.

We arrived home to the smells of supper baking but a curtain covered the kitchen door so we couldn't enter. Half of the kids were preparing supper and the other half were the chosen ones, otherwise known as cleaner-uppers. We had a delicious meal which ended with cake and ice cream.

Then the kids wrote questions about our wedding, our marriage, and what we know about each other. We had a fun- and laughter-filled evening answering questions like what were you thinking while the pastor was speaking during your ceremony, to how do you put up with all of these kids, to the ever popular but never answered who is your favorite? This question came up twice but we were too smart to fall for that one.

We were very blessed to spend the day with our closest family. Many thanks to the kids for organizing this and for all the work you did at home during the day. Tonight we have plans to bore the kids with our wedding video during dinner (we're bribing them with pizza) and then get family photos taken (we're bribing them with ice cream). Gotta take advantage of having everyone in the same place at the same time.