By Shannon Magsam, married 10 years to the same sweet guy
Lingerie? Check. Presents centered around his ’10 favorite things’? Check. The I’m-so-ready-for-a-weekend-alone-with-my-husband good mood? Check.
I thought I had everything I needed for our 10th anniversary weekend until I started getting ready for dinner that first night. Extra clothes? Uncheck. Darnit! I almost got bent out of shape, but then I realized that A) The Mt. Magazine Lodge restaurant isn’t black-tie only or anything, and B) The lack of choices just fit right in with the simplicity theme of our weekend plans.
So I just threw on some red lipstick and a red scarf for “pretty” and called it good. And it was.
We had so much fun. Not in the on-our-honeymoon-in-the-Bahamas way, or the viva-Las-Vegas way, but in a holding-hands-while-taking-long-walks, eat-chocolate-in-the-bed-together-while-watching-movies getting reconnected kind of way.
We both love to read and it was simply decadent to snuggle up next to each other in comfy chairs overlooking Blue Mountain Lake while indulging our inner bookworms. My pick was non-fiction essays and his was a book on chivalry that I’d given him as one of his ’10 favorite things’. (Here’s an aerial view of the lodge and cabins from the Mt. Magazine website. Gorgeous.)
Speaking of his ’10 Favorite Things’ — in honor of our 10th anniversary, of course — I highly recommend trying it for your next big-number anniversary. It was super fun going around town picking out the presents. I doled out the goodies all weekend. They ranged from small things like his favorite candy to a nice new backpack for weekend trips.
Since he’s a lover of words, too, I also wrote him a letter sharing my “Top 10 favorite things about you”.
On Saturday we broke from our romantic mountain pursuits to drive into Paris, the little town about 20 miles from Mt. Magazine. Now we can forever tell each other in corny voices, “We’ll always have Paris.”
Getting back to reality after our 10th anniversary weekend has proved difficult. I still like to close my eyes and imagine we’re back on the “island in the sky”. Time on a mountaintop can help any marriage weather those potential “valleys”.
Shannon Magsam is mom to 8-year-old Ladybug, married to Ladybug’s aforementioned awesome dad, John, and co-creator of nwaMotherlode.com. To read previously published installments of Life With Ladybug, click here. Leave a comment if the mood strikes.
LOVED YOUR STORY. WE HAVE BEEN WANTING
TO GO TO MT. MAGAZINE DURING THE BUTTERFLY FESTIVAL. I THINK THAT IS IN
JULY SO MAYBE THIS YEAR WE WILL MAKE IT.
HAPPY 10TH ANNIVERSARY!!!!!!!!
LOVE, GWEN’S MOM
Thank you!!! 🙂 It really is beautiful there, you should go! I think we’re going to take the kiddo to the butterfly festival, too. I think it’s the weekend of June 25 this year. Maybe we could all meet up!
How nice! We’re celebrating our 10th anniversary this year, too. I love the “10 Favorite Things” idea. 🙂
What a great place and a neat idea!!! I’ll have to use that for our 5th anniversary this year!!! Thanks for sharing!
Jenny and Ambre,
The “favorite things” really was a hit with my husband. He thought it was clever and wished he’d thought of it 😉
Shannon, I LOVE this post. You are so good with words. This is inspiring me to do somethign like this with my JOHN….John Gregory 🙂 He would love it. alone time is so important and there are times in our lives (when we have little ones) where you literally have to build it in and schedule it , but it is well worth it! By the way…have lots of family in Paris!
Thank you, Kristy!
I’m glad you’re inspired. You definitely should schedule some alone time with your guy. It was so good just to focus on each other and remember all the reasons we got married in the first place.
I didn’t know you had family in Paris! We ate dinner at the pizza place on the way out of town on Sunday and I felt like I was part of the community. Everyone seemed to know each other!