Anniversary Trip

Taking a trip to Houston to visit MD Anderson probably was not how I pictured spending my seventh anniversary with Brad but it turned out to be a really fun trip that we probably wouldn't have taken otherwise. We got in Sunday night to our friend's house and stayed up way too late talking with them. We love the Dean's so much and always enjoy an excuse to spend time with them. Monday morning Allison woke up before the crack of dawn to make us muffins and bacon to-go. If you don't know Allison, you should, she is sort of amazing.

After the visit at MD Anderson, we got to see a couple good friends from my old job at Alvarez & Marsal. Things ran way longer than expected at the hospital that morning and what was supposed to be an early lunch turned into a 3pm, leave-your-job-in-the-middle-of-the-afternoon lunch. They were so sweet to still come out and visit! My sandwich had personality:

Brad's uncle works at the Houstonian (a classic Houston landmark hotel that has an old school Texas feel) and was really nice to get us a room for the night to celebrate our anniversary. Brad's uncles stopped by for a visit and it was great catching up with them before they took off on their trip to Costa Rica. I really hope we get to go to Costa Rica someday. We loved visiting New Zealand and it seems like a similar type vacation (outdoorsy, diverse landscapes, places to relax, etc.). 

I've actually spent quite a few nights at the Houstonian for events with my former job but not that much for personal trips. It turns out they have a great pool and pool-side bar. We had a little time in the early evening to go sit by the pool and enjoyed relaxing a bit after a fairly hectic day. The bartender gave us drinks (non-alcoholic for me, of course) for free when he learned it was our anniversary (thanks!). He kept trying to make polite small talk and figure out why we would have driven all the way from Dallas to celebrate our anniversary on a Monday in Houston.  Meanwhile Brad and I traded glances, silently willing him to stop asking questions. The last thing this nice bartender wants is to get the cancer-bomb dropped on him. We've learned the hard way over the last few weeks that when someone asks a polite "how are you doing" in line at the grocery store, the correct social convention is to say "fine" and smile, not "I was just diagnosed with a rare stage 3+ breast cancer.  How about you?". So thankfully he stopped and avoided the awkwardness that comes after over-sharing.

By the time dinner rolled around (for us this is 9PM), we were ridiculously tired. Brad was really sweet about telling me we didn't have to go out if I was too exhausted. I powered through because I didn't know the next time we would have an opportunity to go on a date like this in the future. Also, the number of times I get to do my hair are probably less than the number of fingers on one hand right now. So we pulled ourselves together to go to Taste of Texas for dinner. It was delicious as always. If you haven't been there, it also has an old school Texas feel. They have a killer salad bar and you get to pick out your steak from the butcher - like selecting a lobster at a seafood restaurant.  They even stick a number in it so you know it was the same one you actually picked out.  It is one of several establishments in Texas that pipe Christian music through the speakers, which normally wouldn't register except that when confronted by your own mortality all of a sudden every single Christian song becomes annoyingly relatable. One of the songs that came on was "Blessings", by Laura Story, which has become especially significant for us recently.  It is one of the songs Brad has learned to play on the piano and we've learned the parts to sing it together. The weight and exhaustion of the day just hit me and I lost it and started crying at dinner. Our poor waiter was probably like, what is going on?? was the food that bad??

The next morning there was no sleeping in for us. My follow-up imaging appointments were at 7AM and ended up lasting all morning. We went back to the hotel around noon and got to take a quick nap before getting on the road. 

Overall the trip went really well. I never felt scared about going into labor like I had been nervous about the week before. It was nice getting quality time with Brad before the baby arrives - we've always enjoyed even mundane long car trips together as time to just chat and be together. I'm so thankful to have him as my husband to face all this with. He possesses many characteristics that make him uniquely suited to love and support me through this journey. I've loved being married to him the last seven years and I'm excited to face the next few years together as Team Brashleigh.