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Fourteen years ago today, we gathered with our friends and family at the Tellico Yacht Club and were married. That morning, we had assembled in the front yard of my parents' house and planted a magnolia tree to commemorate the occasion. We've continued that tradition of marking important events throughout our marriage -- each boy had a tree planted upon his birth, and the grave of one tiny boy was marked with another magnolia tree. All stand like living pages of our family scrapbook at my "home place." Our rehearsal dinner was a wienie roast around an open fire, kicked-off by a short hike to the top of Look Rock Tower on Chilhowee Mountain to view the sunset and the valley below. We honeymooned at the "Cabin in the Woods" and then flew to Las Vegas and drove to Bryan Head, Utah. Kingofthehill had planned for us to do some skiing, but alas, the slopes close dutifully each year on tax day in Utah because of environmental concerns. The whole tiny town was abandoned by tourists and overworked locals alike and we had the stunning, snowy-white surroundings all to ourselves. After much too short a time, we flew back to Southern California where I worked in Los Angeles at Arthur Andersen and the King worked at the Disney headquarters in Burbank. My brother threw another reception for us at his place in Pasadena for all our friends who couldn't fly to Tennessee for the wedding and our life together was properly launched with a plethora of gifted mixers, champagne flutes, blenders, and vacuum cleaners. Today, we are 3 children richer and 14 years wiser and lucky enough to be out of the plastic-perfect world of California and living here on our hill in paradise -- resplendent with wildflowers, real-life red mud, and a smattering of outside toys dotting the woods around us. Alas, we are not together to share this benchmark. The King is in London at this hotel and I'm on day 3 of house arrest due to a persistent fever on the part of Oldest Son. But on this day, fourteen years ago, I married my best friend. |
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