This week, Shani and I celebrated our 25th anniversary. And we made an event of it. It turned out one of our favorite singers, Mary Gauthier, was doing a series of concerts celebrating the 25th anniversary of her album “Drag Queens and Limousines.” It also turned out she was playing in Atlanta, where Alex is in college. So we all flew down for a weekend.
Here’s us at the concert. The boys were captivated and we took what may in fact be the best selfie ever taken.
The next morning, Shani and I got up early and went to Arabia Mountain, which is one of the few good places to hike near Atlanta. I went there about 5 years ago in the summer and found this plaque…
It explains that the rock face is covered in a normally nondescript lichen called Diamorpha. But in the spring for a couple of weeks that lichen blooms like crazy. Seeing that bloom has been on my US Bucket List ever since.
Check this out.
And speaking on the US Bucket List. Visiting Savannah, GA has also been on there for years.
We drove there Friday, got an AirBnB right in the middle of the historic district, and spent 2 days. We walked the river, took a ghost tour, sat in squares — but mostly just hung out for long meals with lots of laughing.
There’s a vibe and rhythm you have when it’s just your family. It’s honed over the years. It shifts and reshapes as everyone shifts and reshapes who they are over time. And in that, you find veins of conversation. Quick unexpected duets, but also hours of joyful, effortless perfection — laughing on benches waiting to be seated for dinner, singing Purple Rain on the drive, over meals and playing cards.
It is a simple thing, but we all like each other. A lot actually. Which is about the best anniversary gift a person could ask for.
And, dammit…I’m ending on this photo. Of course I am.
NuckolBall 