Do you ever wish to be young again?  A recent trip to Kiawah Island where Chris and I honeymooned almost 34 years ago had me pondering that very question and my answer came up to be an emphatic no.  I love where I am in middle age and I love the adventures that I have had and have yet to have.

Do I pine for some of the things of the past?  Occasionally but if I were truthful I would have to say that I am just happy to be who I am today.

A conference found us back at the site of our brief honeymoon and I had to admit I was excited to be back.  When we got married we had a week before Chris had to report for duty at the Naval Training Center in Orlando, Florida so our honeymoon spot was chosen to be a spot enroute with our jam packed car.   The first night after we got married we stayed in  a Hilton in Columbus, Ohio which  I believe has now since closed.  What do I remember about that night?  Well, this is not “that kind” of blog but I do distinctly remember having the bellman take virtually all of our stuff out of the back seat because Chris was afraid his uniforms would get stolen.  Oh we were so young and naive.

We found ourselves staying in a lovely villa and with only a couple of days to enjoy the amenities we did what we could. We saved up our hunger (and money)  for one meal at the really top notch restaurant on site.  Unfortunately that was the night I found out that I was allergic to scallops…

But probably the best story that came out of that stay at Kiawah Island was the story of the red flashing light.  When we left Ohio we left our belongings that were going to be picked up by the moving truck in our absence and moved to Orlando. We had stored everything with Chris’s parents and had a nice pile of “stuff” that was to be packed up and delivered.  We left right after the reception so there was no time to open wedding gifts.  We planned that they would just be packed and sent on the truck.  It was not a big deal to us.  There weren’t going to be that many gifts and we could certainly wait for them to be opened later.

But Chris’s mom had other ideas.  As she looked at that stack of presents she felt uneasy about having them packed up without knowing what was in them.  So she called us.  On our honeymoon.  And we were oblivious.  Oh sure we saw that flashing red light on the phone but had no clue what it was.  I remember saying “that light is flashing” a couple of times.  but let’s face it – we were  22 and on  our honeymoon and we had other things on our minds.

Flash away little red light. Flash away.

After we arrived in Orlando we called our families to let them know we had made it safely.  Chris’s mom then relayed to us that she had opened our wedding gifts and recorded what was in each package.

Thud.

Yes. You read that correctly.  If we had only answered that red flashing light on the phone we would have known this was the plan.  I think I would have told her emphatically NO.

34 years later I take pure joy in opening any kind of present because I did not have the opportunity to open our wedding gifts with my husband and enjoy the entire experience.  I understood why she did it but I must admit it was sort of a thing I never really got over.  If only we had known about the flashing red light, right?

So as I sit in our villa at Kiawah Island some 34 years later I am reminded of that story, of how young and naive I was and how I am honestly glad that I am the age that I am and not that young 22 again.  Midlife has its advantages.

One of those is knowing what that doggone flashing red light on the phone means.