I had tons of thoughts on our anniversary. Maybe a staycation or travel. We’d eat exquisite cuisine and throw in a spa treatment. The hardest part was deciding on details…
Until it wasn’t.
This month was filled with bad news and stress- an entire sick family, emergency travel, a fender bender, a cancer diagnosis, a deal falling through…
Two days before our anniversary, we left to say goodbye to Dave’s mom. I knew everything I planned for us was meaningless. Maybe I wouldn’t even mention what day it was if he didn’t know. “In sickness and in health,” I thought. If ever there was a time to cling to my vows, it was now. I felt the timing was poetic, and I was proud to be by his side.
We woke up this morning exhausted from an emotional few days. We had no plans, except going home. And I dreaded the drive. “Happy Anniversary.” We each mustered up a smile.
As we headed down I-95 S, we hit no fewer than 5 accidents. Making lemonade out of lemons, we opted for lunch on the water instead of traffic. As we got out of the car, we fell over from the heat. “Too hot for baby. Forget it. I saw a hibachi place.” It was the worst hibachi we ever had, so we cracked a few jokes and tossed what was left. Back on the road.
“Dave, what’s that smell? Did he just poop?”
“Elyssa, pull over immediately. Not off the exit. RIGHT. NOW.”
This was no ordinary dirty diaper. It
had slid out the sides just before our child dug his hands in for sensory play. And those soiled fingers made it to his feet and every nook and cranny of the car seat imaginable.
As we managed the mess, we found our whole life spread out on the side of the busiest highway on the east coast, covered in human waste, naked, screaming child in hand. While I scrubbed the feces soaked seatbelt, I turned to see Dave wrestling to put a diaper on.
“This is the **** no one tells you about,” Dave giggled.
And, boy is he right. No one tells you about the unexpected, exhausted, stressful, poop-filled parts of marriage, but those are the most important. And if you’re really lucky, you’ll find someone who’s willing to chuckle through the chaos with you.
Happy Anniversary, D. To many more years of love and disaster.
xxx
