We love a good road trip and this one was no different. Even better, we didn't have to worry about 'kid' music or frequent potty stops since we were sans kids. But even in the middle of all the bliss....my mind wandered with expectations. Our agenda for Seattle was wide open, and I am a planner. I had messages out on FB for good eateries, and we were scouring the web for creative ideas.
Yet somewhere in the middle of that 2.5 hour car ride I started to brood.
So much so that the minute we stepped foot in Seattle.....
....our trip went downhill.
I've put off this post for over a week because it's difficult to publish our issues without throwing either one of us 'under the bus.' As in all relationships we both have our pet peeves. One of mine is wanting everything planned out, while his is wanting to 'go with the flow.'
You can bet that is a source for many 'discussions' in our world.
But why would this even come up during our weekend away?
Well, I'll be the first to admit that I have high expectations.
And when those internal goals aren't met, I tend to get a bit testy.
Worse yet.....I might just get mad and stew about it, and not even vocalize those thoughts.
(right about now you've got a LOT of empathy for my hubby huh?)
Part of my frustration was our hotel. Compared to our first night's stay in the heart of the city....this place was off the beaten path, near the congested University. It was a dank little room with few perks. A far cry from the Marriot. Now I'm starting to sound spoiled....but I'm just keeping it real here folks!
So we checked into this hotel, unloaded and I was left to figure out our dinner plans. All of that is fine....but bratty ol me is feeling less and less 'showered' with affection.
And after 11 years of marriage, during an anniversary getaway,
the last thing a girl wants to feel is neglected.
Enter the silent treatment.
Or something close to it. Which was unfortunate because we ended up dining on some delicious sushi fare at the poshy Wasabi in Seattle.
After the meal I wanted to go out and explore. He wanted to stay in.
In the end we went back to the hotel with an obvious chip on my shoulder.
At this point, I must add, he was more than willing to go on a drive or do whatever I wanted....but I was too busy fuming.
It was SUCH an unfortunate mood swing I was having! (to say the least)
I'm obviously omitting some of our major issues here. Both for the sake of our privacy and for the fact that some of them are just plain laughable! You know? Those things that, in hindsight, should never really have mattered! But I'm pointing out the 'easy' complaints to give you an outline.
So we stayed up all night....alternately talking and not talking.
Wasting away our precious time together.
But here is where I get philosophical.
If we wouldn't have had all that time talking....we wouldn't have brought up a lot of issues.
Sometimes it takes the heat of anger to say what you've been too polite to say.
So we let it all hang out. And we walked the whole..."our relationship is doomed" road.
And I wanted to share that because maybe we come across a little too 'peachy' at times.
We fight, and our fights can get ugly, but in the end we really do get stronger for it.
And to keep it real, I'll tell you we wasted most of the NEXT morning still duking it out.
So much so that I fully regret our time in that hotel room.
We finally checked out at noon and yet we still had a 4pm flight to catch.
We spent our final hours in Seattle down at Pike's Market which was crowded with Memorial Weekend tourists.
We met this filet-guy:
and watched them throw the fish:
But our happiest thought was when we looked up Molly Moon's for ice cream.
I would seriously fly back to Seattle just.for.a.scoop of their homemade Salted Caramel!
It took us over half an hour doing circles around city blocks...in all their one-way madness, but it was worth EVERY lick!
To summarize:
our whole mood in Seattle was somber. The crowd at the Market was overwhelming. Our lunch was overpriced. Our time was limited. And we both felt like fools.
Poor Seattle deserves a do-over.
But I guess the best part was recognizing that Jarrod and I are still in this together.
Even if we didn't sit next to each other on our flight home.
Even if every second of our weekend wasn't spent oggling each other with stars in our eyes.
It's good to know we haven't got it all figured out.
Even after 11 years we can fail together.
The two things I am sure of.....
Jarrod loves God more than anything.
He loves me.
And with those things in mind I don't have to dwell on the negative.
Here's to making more memories together!
My dear husband of 11 years.....you compliment me in all my human ways,
and in so doing.....you blow all of my expectations out of the water.
Thank you for putting up with me.
Tomorrow we wake up for our next adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment