And We're Off!!

Tomorrow is our anniversary, marking 28 years. And so, today we are heading out on the motorcycle for Dillard, Georgia to The Dillard House where we will dine at their family-style restaurant, walk their trails, soak in their hot tub, marvel at the scenery, and spend the night in their bed and breakfast that's on site.

We're excited.

They also have horseback riding. The other day, Roy was telling me that he has never been on the back of a horse.

Are you kidding me? I can't imagine! I grew up with horses--two of them, to be exact, and they were as common to us kids as our dog. One of them, Red, was supposedly a thoroughbred in his day. I don't know if that's actually true, but he could run with the wind--sleek and smooth. The other horse, Snip, was quite the opposite. He was shorter than Red, rounder than Red, and hated anything that had to do with running. In fact, he was always "smellin' the barn" and doing his best to head back that direction in hopes that whoever was on his back would kindly get off, thank you very much, so that he could back to grazing. But he was such a good horse and he served us well for many, many years. In fact, I was well into adulthood when he passed. Some of my favorite childhood memories include riding the trails down by the creek with Dad, him on Red, me on Snip. Or riding behind one of my sisters. Or just riding by myself along country dirt roads, listening to the bobwhites calling and dreaming my life away, as I often did back then.

But I seriously doubt we venture on the back of a horse. I've never been too fond of trail riding in those conditions with horses that must tire of the drudgery of the same old thing day after day.

We picked up Mom yesterday as she is hanging with us for a couple of weeks. It was so good to see her and we chattered the whole way back from Knoxville which is almost a two hour drive. The sun was setting and the moon was rising as we headed home. And just as we came around a corner we all looked up at the same time to see a full moon lighting up the sky, so big and round and breathtaking. Full moons always stop me in my tracks for a minute, make me gaze in wonder. I love the order of the sky and how the sun and the moon work together to keep track of time, the months, the changing seasons.

And so, in just a few minutes we'll be taking off. One of my absolute favorite things in life is riding on the bike behind Roy, watching the road go by underneath me and admiring nature's handiwork on all sides. We keep talking about selling it as bikes are dangerous and when one ventures out on it, one never knows...but neither of us have the heart to sell. Not yet anyway. We keep saying, "Just one more ride...one more trip."

Our helmets are sitting side by side on the couch, waiting patiently. We have those little speakers mounted inside of them so we can chat as we ride along. It's a beautiful thing.

So here's to a great weekend! And here's to another year of marriage and friendship and family and holiday cheer and full moons and adventures.

Cheers!