A constant reminder of something better (anniversary edition)

The relationship with my girlfriend has become extremely solid over the last year. She was my rock and the person I would seek refuge with during the year of my divorce. I was also the same for her. Two souls that were going through the same thing at the same time. We were walking through hell together, we were just at different points in hell. without her support I don't know where I would be. we have been hanging out with each other for the last two years, however, we have been officially dating for a year as of two days ago. My relationship with her is different than with my previous relationship in my marriage. She has shown me the way that relationships should be. That there are times for serious discussion, times for laughter, times for intimacy, time to nurture each other, time to decompress. It's very much a two way street. She has been incredibly supportive and has shown me that you are not supposed to be miserable in a relationship, you are not supposed to be so riddled with anxiety that you cannot talk to your partner. We have immersed our families together, and our boys get along together well. It's very much a brotherly situation. We have been introduced to the inner core of each others families. Including her coming on vacation with us last year to Florida. It's been nice, refreshing. A welcomed change to what I was accustomed to. 

We do not get a chance to go out often however because of the schedules that we both have our kids. It seems to be when I have my son, she does not have her boys, and when she has her boys I do not have my son. With that being said we tend to do things as a cohesive family unit. Which is great, but makes it hard for us to have a breather from the joyful chaos that is three boys between the ages of almost four through seven. When we do get quiet time, it is quite welcomed.  Our first anniversary this year fell on a Monday (the twenty-seventh.) Knowing that we really could not celebrate the occasion on a school night we opted to honor it on the Friday before. We didn't go far, we decided to keep it local and stayed two towns up from here in Camden Maine. I am not too familiar with this area as I am not from here originally. She, however, grew up in the town of Rockport and spent her teenage years hanging out in Camden, so she knew the spots. Our plan was to get food and to go back to the room and spend a quiet romantic evening. Let me tell you what, she found the absolute perfect place. It was a cute swanky Boutique hotel called 16 Bayview that was designed after 1930s New Orleans hotel with a modern flare to it. I was totally blown away by the building, the service, and the rooms. We ended up with a street side suite which included a king sized bed, fireplace, large bathroom with a large hot tub and a full glass and stone shower with a shower fixture that looked like it was designed to not only wash you, but scan for bomb residue (like in the airports.) It was wild.  She had fresh flowers ordered for the room, with a card that was made out to Mr. & Mrs. as they thought it was our first wedding anniversary, also a small box of chocolates. This made for quite the laugh. Such a feel good moment. 

Once we were checked in and got over the initial, what I like to call "holy shit" moment we decided to head up the street on foot to pick up the food that we ordered. We hit this Asian fusion restaurant in the heart of town called Long Grains. It was a special occasion, and again, we don't get out much (on average two dates a year) so we didn't spare any expense. Eighty-dollars later (which is reasonable for an anniversary dinner) we walked back down the street arm in arm with a brown bag of Asain cuisine takeout fit for a king and queen.  Dinner included steamed coconut lemongrass mussels, Maine crab fried rice, Chinese yellow noodles, and ginger chicken with mixed mushrooms. we ate with the fireplace going and listened to Mazzy Star. The food was absolutely to die for, I cannot speak highly enough of all the flavors and the quality of the food that was locally sourced. 

We had received complementary drink vouchers, so, after dinner we decided to make our way down to the bar on the first level of the hotel. we enjoyed our blue cocktails on a comfortable couch, before making our way back upstairs to utilize the hot tub and enjoy each others company. The following morning we took a quick stroll outside to the waterfront and pier before going back into the bar to have breakfast and before taking a further stroll down Main street to the stone library before going home. What was nice about this was the fact that we had a good discussion about what we wanted to do, and she took it upon her self to do some research and really try to put something special together for the two of us. It was so nice to be on the other end of that for a change, instead of being the one to try to put something together, and then hear complaining because they had to dress up, and then go back to the house to have them play on their phone the rest of the night. I sincerely appreciated the time and effort that she put into coming up with ideas of where to go for dinner, and she just made the judgement call to get the room (which she got at  a great price due to it being the off season.) It's nice to be on the same page with someone, and recognize that a relationship is a two way street, not just a take most of the time and give a little scenario. She is certainly a good one, has an incredible heart,  and I can't wait to see what the future holds.

Long Grain Camden

16 Bayview Hotel