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What a weekend! We had a great time catching up with wonderful friends in Fairhope. Saturday was spent eating the best food at Panini Pete's and walking around downtown. We took Caroline to ride a train and hung out with great friends. Sunday we had an amazing opportunity to go sailing on this rich doctor's 40 ft. Catalina sailboat. I have never had so much fun in my life! It was a beautiful day, wind in my hair, wine in my glass. I even got to steer and I was pretty good at it. It's truly an exhilarating feeling to have that much power in your control. Watching the guys pull the lines and move the sails was really interesting. It makes that loud whipping sound when you tack, and switch direction of the sails. SOOOO cool. We got some much needed relaxation and had a wonderful time. Then on Monday we spent most of the day with my great friend, March, and her boys. We were backyard neighbors when we lived in Fairhope and I miss her so dearly! Then we cooked out with yet another set of friends and their new precious baby girl. We finally ended our trip today and I must say that I'm glad to be home.
Robert and I talked about whether or not we would go back to Fairhope if given the chance. Seriously a hard thought.... In Fairhope we were "just us." It was definitely a new experience for both of us at the time. With the exception of college, we had never lived anywhere else. It was an adventure in our marriage and it forced us to rely only on each other. We had to make our own life, our own web of connections with new people and new places. We could be whoever we wanted to be and no one knew otherwise. Having a certain amount of anonymity is nice. We had our child and built a new life with a baby all on our own. Of course we had the love and support of our family along the way, but from a distance. It's not the same. We made all the decisions about who, what, when, where, and why. It was a very independent feeling and I loved it. It is a wonderful town full of quaint uniqueness and lots of activities conducive to raising a well-rounded, intelligent child. Now flip to the present. We're home with our family. Everywhere I turn, I see someone I know. Every weekend is filled with a visit here or there from someone we love. And it's wonderful. It's exactly the parts I missed when we didn't live here. Does Clinton lack some of the positives of Fairhope? Yes. I wish our library was as amazing as the Fairhope one. I wish our Wal Mart was full of nice normal people instead of the trash of the town. But when you put all the wonderful things about Fairhope on a scale against your family, family wins - every time. We have a whole host of memories and experiences that shaped who we are as people, a couple, a family. I wouldn't trade a single day we spent in that life. But I'm ultimately most happy here. Fairhope is now just a place where I relax with old friends while on vacation and reminisce on what used to be. It's a town that will always have great food, even better friends, and a cool breeze waiting for me. It's a piece of my past and a piece of my heart. But I'm finally home.