15 Years

Last week Joe and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary by taking a kid-free trip to Mexico! We returned to Playa del Carmen where we honeymooned. Well not the same resort but the same town. The original resort closed...we think. But WE are still going strong:) Our honeymoon was 10 days and this trip was 5 days. I’m thinking it should have been the other way around. We couldn’t have possibly needed 10 days of rest after our wedding, right? But we certainly could use that much rest a decade and a half and four kids later! Regardless we are SUPER grateful for any amount of time away together.

This entire trip was made possible by a) my parents’ willingness to watch our crew and b) moonlighting. 

My one and only requirement for our resort was that it had poolside cabanas. Because if you know anything about me it’s this: I like to sleep. And I wanted to be able to go from my bed in our room to a bed next to the pool. I love sleep THAT much. 

Turns out THIS guy was a really good sleeper on this trip. For the first two days every time I turned around he was “resting his eyes”. Years of sleep deprivation will do that to a person I guess. Because normally he does NOT nap. But in Mexico he was a pro napper:)

Poolside or beachside. He didn’t discriminate. Naps all around!

Naps and lots of pictures together. Thank goodness for the selfie mode and self timer on phones. Fifteen years ago our Mexico pictures looked like this...

Joe. 

Bear. 

But not Joe & Bear. 

Ok. That’s not completely true. And here is the proof. We re-created a rare Joe & Bear together picture from our honeymoon on this trip. Here’s the result:

Yes. That’s the same dress. Still fits thanks to lots and lots of stretch. I felt silly bringing it and wearing it again but in the end I’m glad I did. The results make me smile. I love seeing us then and now. So much has changed in the last 15 years. But so much has stayed the same as well. Plus the re-creation process was funny. I wore the dress on the night we had hibachi reservations. Which means we ate at a hibachi counter/table. Not a real table. Meaning the picture would be totally different. Oops. We persevered. After hibachi we went to the buffet and insisted on a 4 person table despite the hostess’ insistence that we needed a 2 person table. In the end we got the table, the picture and a second serving of dessert! Win. Win. Win!

This next picture is also a honeymoon picture re-creation. Except I don’t currently have the original. It’s packed and ready for our move THIS weekend! 

Joe gave me that skirt as a gift for our honeymoon:)

Admittedly I napped a bit too. Mostly poolside and on the beach. But our last night there I did fall asleep during the Mexican fiesta/market. Oops!

I know I already said this. But the time away was so good. Just to be us. Together. Alone. No responsibilities. No distractions. We got to talk uninterrupted. Multiple times each day. Every day all day if we wanted. I feel like it’s the first time we’ve sat down and really talked in a long long time. Lots of verbally processing the last seven years (medical school + residency). The good. The bad. The ugly. All of it. Plus talking and dreaming about the future. Because we are finally on the brink of being done with training. So much to talk and think about. 

Admittedly there was a little bit of guilt involved with leaving the kids for a (school) week. It was a busy week. And we missed some important events with them. Isaiah’s 5th grade award ceremony and party. Charlotte’s award ceremony and dance dress rehearsal and pictures. Hannah’s kindergarten graduation (we FaceTimed for that one!) But my parents did great and the kids loved having their grandparents at the special events. I think overall it was good for everyone. 

I’m hoping we don’t wait another 15 years before we get away just the two of us again.