Married in the woods -- and then back again

After making our trek back to the Lusk Caves last week, the Prof. and I have decided that spending our anniversaries (of which, I guess there are many) in the places where the events first happened is a great idea.

This week, we made our way back into the woods where we celebrated our wedding last year -- the first big celebration we had with family after announcing that we'd eloped in France.

The difference between last year and this year was HUGE.

Last year, I guess we were both still nervous about our rapidly changing relationship. From the moment we arrived at the lake, we'd set to work organizing our little make-shift wedding celebration. We picked white flowers from the side of the road, tied ribbons around the tops of mason jars so we could hang tea lights from the cottage roof. We'd been excited, a little overwhelmed, giddy, had still been feeling each other out as far as our concepts of marriage went, and the words "husband" and "wife" were still making me feel as though I'd broken into an attic to try on my mother's lipstick and my grandma's high heels.

Then, the whole idea of getting married was so new that we could barely even believe we were doing it.

This year, my husband and I (I can say the word now without laughing) swam, fished, and chatted comfortably on the dock with no real plans, no flowers to pick, no guests to invite, and no schedule -- unless you count our mission to complete the puzzle I've posted.

Again, anniversaries are weird. Things change. People get to know each other, make plans with each other; puzzles get tossed out on to the table, and eventually get solved. Then you clear them away and set another one up on the table. (Note: My mom has started our next one and it looks absolutely terrible! Luckily, we left the lake today for more travel and will probably only return only after she's got the border done and the colours sorted.)