Ten

Last Thursday Matt and I marked our first decade of marriage. How did we celebrate such a momentous occasion? In multiple ways and typical Butterworth South style.

Matt started by going into work on his day off for a meeting. I then had to teach a yoga class, but caught up with him for lunch. We did have plans to go to the cheapy movies (only $1 before 6:00), but instead watched episodes of Pysch and Burn Notice that we had recorded weeks before. But the fun did not end there. We celebrated throughout the weekend. On Friday, I scheduled surgery to repair my deviated septum and the rest of the day was spent doing laundry in preparation for our big trip to...Cleveland.

Whenever we told people that we were going to Cleveland for the weekend, we received the strangest looks. I realize it is not a hotbed of tourism, but we had a good reason for going. We stayed in a delightful bed & breakfast in Ohio City, a small community located next to downtown Cleveland just over the Cuyahoga river. The community web site touts Ohio City as an area in the midst of restoration and provides a walking tour to see the classic architecture in the area. Needless to say, it was not all we hoped it would be, Ohio City must still be in the beginning phase of restoration. We did visit their large community market and it was a sight to see. Stall after stall of fresh produce in one building, homemade cakes and pastries in another. There were also dozens of butchers with their own areas and once I caught sight of a whole small suckling pig I announced I was ready to leave. I am perfectly happy with my soy sausage patties, thank you very much.

Dinner was spent at the Great Lakes Brewing Company, known for their finely crafted micro brews. Considering neither Matt nor I drink beer, the full experience was lost on us. We were content to eat our food and walk back to our room where we prepared for the main event, the Genesis concert later that night. Thanks to Matt's brother Mark, we had tickets to the show. Matt has been a fan for nearly 20 years and was looking forward to the event. A friend of mine saw the show in Columbus, so I already knew that it was going to be good. We were younger than most of the crowd, but still old in so many ways. About halfway through the show, my ears were ringing and I could still hear the music, but couldn't really understand Matt when he talked to me. Understated as always, Matt did not yell or cheer. He sat through most of the show and a few times I could see him mouthing the words to the songs. He told me he had a good time and I believe him.

The next morning, we had a fantastic breakfast of fresh fruit, pumpkin bread, and french toast. We also met the other couple staying in the house and found out that they had also come into town for the Genesis show. They were from Canada, just outside of Toronto and that led to hockey talk. The best part was when they did not realize that Columbus had an NHL team. Go Blue Jackets! Maybe more people would know about them if they actually had a winning season. And to complete the meal, they commented about leaving soon so that they could get home shortly after the dog sitter left. I think Matt and I met our future selves.