30 Years and Beyond

Ok, been married to the spousal unit for over 30 years.  We've lived in two rentals, now on our second home, have had four dogs, one cat, a few fish, and two boys that have reached adulthood.

A lot of water has flowed under the bridge.  Several midlife crisis episodes have been survived, I got my truck and she got her little red sports car.

We survived years of high school band camp, and finally recovered from all the travels with select soccer.  Youngest is in his last year of college, so the life as college student parent tailgater will soon come to an end.  Then what???

We have our slice of heaven already determined, a stretch of sugar white sand called the Florida Pan Handle.  Time sharing gives us four weeks, and that suits us just fine.  I'll always be on the hunt for deals on beach chairs and umbrellas,  and will be continually working on the recipe for the perfect Ziparita.

A bunch of life lessons have been learned in 30 years,  some you share and others folks just have to discover on their own.

You learn to have your own backup  list of possible restaurants to pick from when you ask your spousal unit "where would you like to eat this evening,  dear?"  Females can hesitate on this one sometimes and before you know it, you are dining on quiche and finger sandwiches.

Always use a GPS for navigation.   This tool is a marriage saver.  If you miss a turn, you can always count on the device to say."recalculating!"  I relearned this trick this week when I didn't turn it on during our trip to Nashville.

It's a good idea to make sure you know the color of the day.  When you reach this age, and you separate when you get outletmalled, having on the same colored outfit comes in handy when trying to locate your spousal unit browsing through the clearance racks.

When it comes to birthdays, there are unspoken rules that apply to birthday cakes.  Under no circumstances are you to eat the last piece of her birthday cake, even if it has been on the cake plate for a week.  Do not touch!

When it comes to family matters, it's all about the hens.  They are of the same feather and will always cluck together.  The men, and inlaws have no vote and no say.  Once they have clucked to a decision,  it's full steam ahead.  Just keep you eyes open and your mouth closed and you will survive another family gathering.

When communicating with your children at these family events, it's best to use hand signals or even text each other, even when sitting in close proximity to eat other.  No point giving away your secret plans with a verbal response.

When pumping gas at the local Kroger, never use all of the points on your fillup.  If you do, your ears will be forever ringing with the words "did you use all the points???"

When it comes to your health and welfare, plenty of direct marketing plans and products will enter your household.  Resistance is futile because her friend or relative needed one more participant in their circle of partners.  "Honey this product is the latest rage, and I just have to give it a try!"

Social media is an area where you must tread lightly.  Some spouses don't like to be tagged in your posts, so you might want to use a code name, thus "the spousal unit" was born.  Be careful to change the names and circumstances when telling a yarn from the hood, as some of your friends will think it's them and all of a sudden you are either unfriended or blocked.

When acting as the chauffeur for your better half, remember to keep your thoughts to yourself, and only make suggestions when asked for your opinion.  Listening to conversations between family members my not be good for your health.

Life is an adventure and it should be shared with a partner.  I found one that is a keeper, my best friend, and the love of my life. There will be good times and an occasional bad.  Keep the communication channels open and do things together.  Eventually both of you will look back and laugh at those times together, whatever the outcome.

Our latest adventure together comes to and end today.  But guess what, another picks up tomorrow!

Life is good!