Posts Tagged ‘gifts’

Day 365… What a Year! Is This The End Or Just Another Beginning?

Posted: September 10, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Friday, August 5, 2011

So, all good things must come to an end and our second honeymoon is no exception.  Wait!  Did I call it good?  Sorry.  Make that great!

It was so amazing to share this time with someone who I’ve known and loved for years, and yet in the context of a “new” relationship.  It was truly some of the most blessed days imaginable.

Our room was terrific, as always.  All the rooms have kitchens and we always bring a lot of groceries and do a lot of cooking and relaxing while we’re there.  They also have several great restaurants on site, so we took advantage of that as well.

It was extremely hot all week, so when we weren’t indoors, we were usually either in the lazy river or in one of the several swimming pools.  We also went canoeing in the early morning on the lake and took walks in the evening around the resort.

Tonight we drive home and tomorrow morning, we get up early for our 62 mile Tour De Cox.  Today is 365 days – exactly one year from the day we woke up after our separation and started over on the day we had planned to ride our first Tour in 2010.

Tomorrow, after the Tour, we will welcome family and friends from near and far who will come to share our vow renewal ceremony.  After that?  Well, it will officially be the end of the Restoration Tour, but it will only be the beginning of the rest of our lives.

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Day 323 and Counting… Going to California!

Posted: July 27, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Monday, June 27, 2011

Got another big surprise today – this one of the good variety!

We were at my parents’ house helping them with some yard work and they brought up the subject of visiting my brother in California.  I mentioned that we’d like to go, but never have had the money.

They said they would pay for the trip and that they really wanted us to go.  They’re going to buy the plane tickets and give us extra for traveling expenses.

My brother lives near Fresno, but we’re flying into San Francisco, so we’re going to go up to wine country for a couple of days when we first get there.  I used to travel to Napa and Sonoma Counties as part of being a wine writer, but I never got to have Ceecee with me.

I would visit wineries and eat in great restaurants, but I always wished she could share that part of my life.  Now, by taking this trip, she can!

Day 294 and Counting… Starting with a Bang!

Posted: June 24, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Sunday, May 29, 2011

The Summer of restoration started with a bang this morning.  Literally.

I unexpectedly didn’t have to work at Macy’s and we decided to have brunch with Mimosas at the loft.  When I was opening the bottle of bubbly, the cork shot up and off the ceiling.  We had a good laugh and have spent the day mostly laying around.

I still have to work Monday and Tuesday, then no more second job.  So much to look forward to this summer.

My parents surprised us with a blessing that I’m really excited about.  One of our counselors at school has a timeshare at Big Cedar Lodge where my wife used to work.  They sometimes sell rooms for a good price and they had a one bedroom for August 1-5 and my parents paid for it so we could take a second honeymoon!

Day 287 and Counting… Another Graduation, More Restoration

Posted: June 15, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Sunday, May 22, 2011

Speaking of graduation, we found ourselves at another graduation ceremony this past weekend.

We drove out to western Kansas because my daughter from a previous marriage graduated high school in a small town called Bucklin.  She also had her baby about a month ago and we hadn’t seen him yet, so this was to be our first visit as grandparents.

It was definitely a trip of good times and bad times.

Let’s start with the bad.  During the graduation ceremony, they did this thing that was really cool.  Well, for some people, that is.

There were a bunch of roses on the stage and the graduates could go and get roses and present them to parents, grandparents, etc. out in the audience.  It was a powerful moment during the ceremony, but there was no rose for me.

I shook it off and went to talk to her and see the baby afterward.  My daughter did let me hold Carter, but otherwise pretty much blew me off and it hurt.

My ex wife came over and started trying to talk to me and Ceecee stepped in and told her to back off and leave me alone.  It was pretty cool that she was so assertive in a protective way for me, since she obviously knew I was upset.

The cool part was when we had left Bucklin and were on our way to Dodge City, where my in-laws are. I was thinking about the time I went to Dodge City during our separation and I brought back a Mexican cake and these special marinated steaks that we used to love to eat when we lived there.  Kasey, my wife’s youngest daughter was with us and she mentioned wanting to go to the Mexican store and I looked at Ceecee and she said, “It could be a little restoration.”

It was so amazingly great to be on the same page like that, and it turned out to be really cool for Kasey to be able to share it with us.  Last time, I had gone there by myself and things hadn’t gone well when I had come back.  This time, we were there together on the restoration tour and things couldn’t be better.

Day 272 and Counting… Restoring Mother’s Day

Posted: June 6, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Sunday, May 8, 2011

Today being Mother’s Day is another important step on the restoration tour.  Not that Ceecee is my mother, of course, but she is the mother of our children and I’ve always tried to honor her on Mother’s Day and make it special for her.

Being empty nesters now means no kids to get up and get ready, so I made Ceecee breakfast in bed and just let her lounge around for the morning.  Last year’s Mother’s Day was far from being a celebration, so this is another stop on the tour and it’s important to make the day special and meaningful.

Our oldest daughter Angie – on behalf of the kids, although it was really her – came by today and gave her a bracelet to match the ring I got her for our anniversary last year.  I helped her pick it out and we had it all planned, and it was really a nice way to top off a terrific day!

Day 265 and Counting… Early Birthday Pizza!

Posted: June 4, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Sunday, May 1, 2011

We didn’t waste any time on Ceecee’s free birthday pizza this year!

If you belong to Old Chicago’s World Beer Tour, they send you an email every year with a code for a free pizza for your birthday.  It’s good for the entire month that your birthday falls in and it’s not a “buy one, get one” or anything like that.  It’s just a free pizza. and even though Ceecee’s birthday isn’t for almost 2 more weeks, we went today!

Yesterday was 9 months since “the phone call” and tomorrow will be 9 months back together.  Only about three months left on the restoration tour, and then the Tour de Cox and our vow renewal ceremony.  Everything has changed in these 9 months and I find it so hard to fathom that two people who are as happy and in love as we are ever let ourselves get so lost that we thought our marriage was over.

Day 258 and Counting… Our First Grandchild

Posted: May 28, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Sunday, April 24, 2011

Last night, we became Grandparents.

It definitely wasn’t the way we’d have planned it.  It’s not our oldest, who has been married for a while now.  It was the youngest, who is still in high school.

She called and told me she was pregnant around the time we got back together.  I haven’t pretended to be happy about it, but it’s important that we be in the baby’s life regardless of the circumstances.

He was born last night in the same hospital his mother was born in, and they named him Carter.  My wife made a baby blanket and we sent it, but we didn’t go out there to western Kansas for the birth.

Day 251 and Counting… A Late Christmas Present?

Posted: May 20, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Sunday, April 17, 2011

Today, Ceecee finally “got” one of her “12 Days” gifts from last Christmas.

It wasn’t given late, it was actually just given way early.  It was two tickets to the musical, “Chicago,” which is probably my wife’s favorite.  She loves the movie and the soundtrack, but had never seen it performed in the theater until today.

I bought the tickets last Christmas because there was no way I was going to take a chance on them selling out.  That’s happened to us before, and this one is too important to her to risk it.

We went to a matinée show this afternoon, then I bought stuff to make a seafood dinner not too much different from what we had for Valentine’s.  I figured it worked then, so don’t fix what’s not broken, right?  Life is too good right now!

Day 249 and Counting… Being a Kid Again

Posted: May 19, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Friday, April 15, 2011

 

Yesterday was an even more stressful day than usual for Ceecee at work.  They tend to get that way the closer to the end of the school year it gets.

I knew she needed something to pick her up and I came up with an idea as the day went on.  She’s a kid at heart, so I decided to let her get out of her “grown-up” responsibilities and just let her be a “kid” for a while.

During my free period on the afternoon, I ran over to the dollar store and picked up some sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and a coloring book and crayons.

After work, we went to this little hole in the wall place downtown that has the best greasy sandwiches in town (yes, we’re not supposed to be eating that stuff) and got orders to go.  then we walked to a nearby park where I gave her the things I bought and let her “play.”

The park is adjacent to the local Double A baseball team’s stadium and we saw that they were getting ready to have a game, so we walked over and bought tickets, purely on spontaneity.  It was a great afternoon and evening of fun, and it just came out of loving her and knowing her so well.  It was simple and inexpensive, but it made memories and reinforced my love and the idea that I will always be there for her.

Day 189 and Counting… Too Much Love For One (Valentine’s) Day

Posted: March 8, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Monday, February 14, 2011

Today is the actual Valentine’s Day, but we already celebrated and made this the most epic, multi-day Valentine’s Day ever.  This is the restoration tour and anything else just wouldn’t have been in keeping with the celebratory nature of our whole relationship right now, anyway.  

The play was wonderful yesterday.  The dinner was pretty amazing as well, if I’m allowed to brag on myself.  Oh yeah, it’s my blog, so I can do whatever I want on here!

We have an urban grocery store called the Bistro Market downtown near our loft and they have a good seafood counter, so I got everything there.  I also picked out a good white wine and served her in courses.  My favorite were the steamed snow crab legs, but all of it was very good and my wife LOVES seafood.  

Today, we had to work (darn Monday) and I had flowers and a box of chocolates delivered to her, but that was just the formality.  The weekend was our day – wait, two days – to revel in the joy we’ve found.

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