Pair of Travelers – Newnan Times

Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington. It’s the only place we haven’t been.

Well, make that the only place we have been, but not together.

Ninja Man and I are embarking on our 39th wedding anniversary. We have tons, and I mean tons of experiences that we share, even though many of them have to be described for a moment or two before the other person actually remembers all the details.

I’m sure we’ve taken this for granted, but we haven’t known any other way. My past is his past, his past is my past – for better or for worse.

I’m not here to say it’s been all roses. Nope. It’s been H-E-double-hockey sticks more than once. It’s been a few nights in the guest room more than once. It’s been more than once slammed door and far too many raised voices followed by at least as many silent treatments.

But we’ve stuck it out and with God’s grace and a multitude of blessings, we are here and traveling this road of getting old together.

He is preparing for another trip to Europe. We recently recalled the many trips we’ve taken together, and once again, remembered that single one we have both taken but at different times.

We talk about Utah, the rental car we drove between unbelievably huge mountains on our way to see Park City. This was a place we – not being ski enthusiasts – had never heard of until hearing of it from fellow passengers on the flight to Salt Lake City from Savannah.

We recall trips from Moreland to Pensacola, Florida – that place that is embedded the hearts of our family. We made tons of trips with the kids to the little mobile home Ninja Man’s parents owned near the beach with our only extra needs being money for gas and dinner out just once or twice. Disney World is where all the travel memories began.

We spent our honeymoon there in 1976 and have taken our children several times. Ninja Man and took our R.V. there a couple of years ago and camped at Fort Wilderness. It’s possible we will return for our 40th anniversary next year, simply because we love it and we talk about that amazing campground pretty much every time we go camping.

My first flight as an adult took us to Maine. It was a big deal that we went because it was the one place on earth that I really, truly wanted to see. Why I wanted to see it so much is a mystery. All I can figure out is there was a report I had to write in elementary school and I chose Maine for some reason. The more I found out about it in Compton’s and Britannica encyclopedias, the more I wanted to see it for myself.

That desire never left me, and it was one of the best trips we’ve ever taken together.

I cannot wait to return someday.

The trip to Paris and the countryside of France was unexpected. He came home with the announce- ment that he had to travel for his company and with just a few weeks notice I was on a plane to France using up my Sky Miles. Every sin- gle moment of that trip was special.

And then there’s Seattle.

Seattle is the only place that both of us have visited without one another. He sent me on a trip soon after helping with the birth of a grandchild. I was mentally and physically exhausted and it was just what I needed. “Be sure to see Pike Place Market,” he reminded me soon after I landed at the airport. I did, taking care to see all the things that he enjoyed when he was there months before. It made for some great memories, but to this day it is strange to both of us that we didn’t share those memories together.

Maybe we will get back to Seattle by the time our 45th anniversary rolls around.

Maybe sooner. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but what I do know is that I want to share the memories of it with him.

I guess that’s just part of the journey of growing old together.

(Kathy Bohannon is a regular contributor to The Times Herald. She is also a public speaker and Christian comedian. For more information or to book her for your event, contact her at kathybohan@ yahoo.com .)