A Perfect Ten

Trying to take pictures of ourselves....no easy task. Race with the camera!

Chi and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary with a getaway to Asheville. The Little Nguyens were overjoyed to be able to go on "vacation" right here in Raleigh, at Aunt Susan and Uncle John's. Knowing they were left in very capable hands made leaving almost too easy! But it also helped us really relax and enjoy our time together.

Call me crazy, but I will take the mountains over the beach any day. The fresh Blue Ridge air, the perfect temperatures (we swam outdoors in the mountains in April), sunshine and clear blue skies made our vacation utterly enjoyable. We loved walking along the French Broad River, hiking, and hopping on the Blue Ridge Parkway for an afternoon drive -- it is certainly no less breathtaking in the Spring than in the Fall. However, it was a bit strange to mill around the city without children. There were no obligations, no look-both-ways-before-you-cross and wash-your-hands-if-you're-finished reminders, and, most notably, no justifying why we were eating Vanilla Swiss Almond right from the carton while watching a movie! As much as we love that the Little Nguyens consume our lives, and as aware as we are that it is a blessing that they do, it was nice to get away and remember why we have them in the first place.

Asheville is a great city to walk around in. We always remark that, aside from North Hills, there isn't really an area in Raleigh where we can take a stroll after we have dinner out. Sometimes it's just good to walk, to let the Little Nguyens run and expend some energy while we talk and catch up. There were an endless array of art galleries, bistros, confectioneries, tiny book shoppes (people clearly read a lot in Asheville), and unique clothing boutiques. I can't say we really wanted to go inside any of them, but we loved looking in the windows and watching the people. There were so many wonderful restaurants, too. We had a particularly difficult time choosing where to eat. But, in fact, our favorite meal was the simplest one -- sharing a bottle of wine, eating Brie and French bread and fruit. To be, let's not forget, followed by Vanilla Swiss Almond. It was a most perfect dinner date where we just got to talk about things that have nothing to do with raising children.

Better....

It's so easy to get caught up in and sidetracked by life. I love the man I married, and I am glad he can still remember what I was like before I was a mother! Parenting alters us in many ways that we would never want to change, but inside, somewhere, are the young people who fell in love. Sometimes we forget they are still in there, under all of the peanut butter and jelly, beneath the smears of soccer field dirt, and waiting to come out to play! Thanks, Susan and John, for helping us get away to meet up again. We don't do it enough, but when we do, we ask ourselves why we don't do it more often.

Here's to ten wonderful years with you, Chi. I know I can always count on you being the same person I married on that lovely Spring day in April 2000 -- quiet, a bit reserved, and full of love. I know you will always stand firm in your promises to me. You always put me first, above all else, and your only goal is to make me smile and laugh. There is not an ounce of pretention in you, and you are amazingly true to yourself and your beliefs. Your brown eyes are as beautiful as they were when I met you -- playful and a bit mischievous -- and your smile is full of charm. In the blink of an eye, my life changed when I met you. Prayers were answered, in His perfect time, of course, but well worth the wait. Here's to the next ten years....or twenty, or forty, or sixty. However long we are given, I will take. Happy Anniversary! I love you!