I AM MARRIED!!! And I am in love...

Can you believe that I actually got married? Sometimes John and I just look at each other and wonder "What have we done??!!!" We both wanted an eternal companion, but neither of us was actually planning on getting married. But here we are... MARRIED!

The wedding was fun but way too big a day for 2 old people. We barely made it through the day and I think I have only been as tired as my wedding day one other time... and that was after doing "Back to Bethlehem" the first time. And so, you can imagine how much fun I was that night... (ahem). Anyway, my kids had (and have) a range of emotions and opinions as to this marriage. Each feels no reservation in voicing these feelings... at length or in snippets. And they are watching me closely... for signs of weakness, regret, rage, helplessness, resignation, depression...and I am happy to say that I have not failed them. They have seen it all!!!

Don't you just love my dress? It was strapless with the teeny tiniest jacket that covered nothing, so my sister fashioned and assembled a "t-shirt" of sorts that was the EXACT color and so I was modest. (Jo is a genius in the innovation dept.) My emotions concerning how I felt in "the dress" ranged from absolutely ridiculous to fabulous, but I never felt one and then the other... I felt both simultaneously. The surprising news is that when I bought the dress it was way too small (it zipped but it took both Angelee and Jo to do it) and I could only not breathe for about 30 seconds before they had to quickly unzip it and slap me on the back to make me start breathing again. BUT, when I went for the fitting a couple of months later, it fit. (I don't dare try it on now... :-D) And I wore red shoes... that was the best part!

April 22nd is the anniversary of what John laughingly calls "his date with Jo". As you probably know, Jo and Angelee went with me to meet him in San Francisco. I was not impressed... by the fanny pack, the baggy pants, his odor (old man smell)... plus he was a dork... a geek! So Jo talked to him while I looked anywhere else but at him. Plus, he kept staring at me. Even though he bought me a pair of earrings from a street vendor for $5, I knew this was not going anywhere and I just wanted it over. But lo and behold, Jo and Angelee actually LIKED him. Can you believe that those two girls (and I think you know what I am talking about... they hate everyone) thought he was nice. NICE??? I had no idea about that because I could not get past the fanny pack. (He still mourns the day that the fanny pack was banned. Don't bring it up...)

But I continued to email and the little voice in my head that would NOT go away kept saying... "You don't know him, you don't know him, you don't know him, you don't know him"...over and over again... and so I gave him another chance. On the bright side, he does clean up nicely, he is very teachable, was horrified when I told him his car stunk (in his defense, while he can taste, he cannot smell), did not fight me about the fanny pack (although he brings it up on a regular basis), showers daily, and is very diligent about doing laundry (whether it needs it or not!)

I knew we were going to get married long before he knew. There was no reason not to. He fit my list of "requirements of any husband of mine, now or in the future". (I NOW realize that my list should have included "clean car" and "good memory". LOL I think his best attribute is that he LOVES me. ME!! And I think that, in itself, is amazing. I know that I am not an easy person to live with. And I love to $hop and $pend money. And I don't cook regularly... only sometimes. And I am so busy with my job, my family, my calling, etc, etc, that there is not a lot of time left for him. I gave him a picture of me in a frame that says, "High maintenance, but oh so worth it". He believes that I am "so worth it". And that is a huge blessing!!!

We are celebrating that first date on April 21st... since the 22nd is a Sunday. We are going to recreate that date... we are going to do exactly what we did on that ill-fated date one year ago. Only this time, I am going to be present. And Jo and Angelee are not invited. (They want to go, by the way.) And I am going to look at him, as he stares at me. And he will definitely $pend more than $5 dollar$ on me!

"I am in love with the boy..."