Childhood dream: Prince Charming rides in on a white horse, vanquishes the evil witch (mom), secures the rights to the kingdom from the reigning monarch (dad) and whisks you away to a castle or perfect cottage with a white picket fence. An adorable prince and beautiful princess are born to you and you raise them with grace, patience and that cool mom factor. Your home is always clean and orderly, filled with the scents of delicious meals and baked goods. And of course, you live happily every after.
Reality: After you kiss a lot of frogs, you meet a guy, fall in love and have a beautiful wedding that Dad never fails to remind you how much money it cost him. You struggle to get pregnant and then produce 3-4 “blessings”, one of which never learns to sleep through the night, another terrorizes the neighborhood with pranks and the other refuses to leave their room because he’s addicted to video games. Your children roll their eyes when you offer advice, your husband works all the time and you live for the day the housekeeper comes to clean so you can rush around picking up the mess and enjoy 4 hours in which the home will remain orderly.
Or for me, it’s been Door #3 and I’m pretty sure that I stumbled through that opening, because I certainly didn’t deserve it. JB and I celebrated our 33rd anniversary last Monday and the occasion allowed us to reflect on our lives together, all of the adventures, trials, joys, and even the regular, normal, uneventful times.
In true “Ruth” fashion, the festivities ran for 7 days (the family joke is that I can stretch a celebration for weeks…e.g. Ruth’s Birthday Month).
-leisurely lunch at Fearing’s on the Saturday prior to kick off the Anniversary Season (I highly recommend the fried chicken!)
-Monday night sushi at Oiishi, a disappointing meal but the Hendricks martini was a-ok
-hump day was a light meal at Saint Ann’s on Harwood after missing out on Andre Bocelli tickets 😔
-headliner meal at Drake’s on Thursday, with a to-die-for on-the-bone NY strip, crispy Brussels sprouts, a bottle of bubbly + 24 layer Strawberry cake for dessert— OOF!
-Friday evening we indulged in happy hour Old Fashioneds at The Mercury bar
-and finally Saturday night, our week-long anniversary party culminated in cooking together at home: Pan-Seared Sea Bass, Pepper-crusted Filet, Sautéed Spinach, and Maguire’s Salad, with a little cheese board to end the evening
Lots of amazing food, tête-à-tête chats and a little too much wine; my stomach and my heart, filled to the brim with comfort and gratitude. I am married to my best friend and it’s difficult to imagine life in any other way. We don’t live in a castle high on a hill and we don’t own a private jet. But we have taken so many amazing trips together, with our family and as a couple. Some of my kids definitely hated me for a while and yet I love seeing who they’ve become as adults and all their babies. Lord knows, I am a challenge to live with and yet JB has stayed faithfully by my side for these past 33 years. Could I be so lucky to earn 33 more? Reality is so much better than the fantasy. 💗
