I have a 90-year-old friend that I met at church.  She doesn’t drive very often, so if I want to see her, I go to her place.  She lives in a retirement community.  Her gentleman friend is very popular around the community because he is a writer.  He is the resident poet, actually.  Here is a poem he wrote for her – she was sweet enough to let me have a copy.

Mellow Evenings
My lady love and I
are both ninety.
She gives me
a sweet kiss
when I come in.
We play cards
listen to music,
watch Sixty Minutes
and Classic Arts,
sit quietly
holding hands
and chatting.
Then a hug
and I’m off,
early to bed
smiling.

The five-year anniversary vacation is very different from the honeymoon.  On your honeymoon, you talk about the future. “Who will make the coffee?” “Will your 14-year-old cat like me?”  “What time do you get up for work?”  “Your last name is ten letters long - how long ’til I can sign my name fast?” “What will we be like in five years?”  It’s all fast forward.

The five-year trip is all about right now.  Look who we are.  This unit.  Look at how we live day-in and day-out.  Here we are.

Ryan has a book about understanding Zen.  He picks it up from time to time when he feels he needs to center.  Buddhist practice always reminds us to be present.  That’s how Ryan described this trip.  No past, no planning.  Being present.

Here are some pictures.

Here we are at the Riu Palace courtyard …

Here is the view of the Riu Palace grounds ….

Hil taking a nap in the hammock on the beach …

Ryan, reading ….

Hil reading ….

Here is the beach off the hotel ….

Ryan read a Greek mythology book on our trip, so here Ryan is posing as a Greek Sea God ….

Here’s Ryan, relaxing …

Here’s the first thing Ryan did in his 29th year – watched the sun rise over the water ….

For Ryan’s birthday, I had chocolate cake (with a candle) and champagne sent to our room. Room service is included at an all-inclusive resort, by the way.  There is this guilty pleasure about getting room service that I just can’t shake.  I try to be mature about it, but I am not ….

For Valentine’s Day, the hotel set up lovebirds on our bed ….

…. and set up place set up for guests to take promesque pics. Here is the birthday boy!

The last night of our trip was Ryantine’s Day.  Here we are grabbing a cocktail before his birthday dinner.