I'm officially 3 days away from my first anniversary, and I've spent a bit of time the last few weeks thinking back to what I was doing last year when I wasn't obsessed with dealing with some of my own interpersonal crap. The problem with baggage sometimes is that in trying to move it about, it becomes cumbersome and lord help you unpacking it. You might be able to find a place for it, but most of the time, the baggage is just unnecessary clutter, even if you aren't 100 percent aware of it. Well, I can say that now, but part of my struggle has been trying to find that happy place. And for me, it was relating to many of the events from last year's wedding.
I know girl and I didn't want to have a extremely religious ceremony, nor did we want to have it in a church. We both knew that we were marrying the person that completes us best, and there were no commitment issues, but at the same point, we wanted to share our love and good fortune with many people that had been along for the ride. My family, albeit small, was represented rather well with my dad, aunt and uncle, while Girl's family, as big as it is, was there as well. We also had dozens of my friends from all over that dropped in, from my bank days to days in Spokane and Boise, and plenty of our Timbers Army counterparts there. There were some notable no-shows, but at the same time, I understand that some things come up and what mattered was that people were there to support us, either in person or in spirit.
But the days leading up to the ceremony were crazy, with all of the last minute details, phone calls, planning sessions, picking up people, running errands, and just putting together all of the stuff needed to pull this off. We had a great bunch of friends step up and provide us a lot of help, with putting decorations together, taking pictures, cleaning up, and generally being great people. But hey, my friends are amazing, so I wouldn't have expected anything less.
And as far as being married, it's been the most amazing roller coaster ride. I've never been so happy at times, it makes my face hurt. I've never been so challenged to the point that I wanted to break down. I've never cried so much about things, or have loved someone as much as I do girl. The amount of work it takes to get two people to suddenly become a single working unit while maintaining a level of independence is quite simply daunting, and I am amazed at the people that can stay married for 30, 40, even 50 years and still love each other as much now as they did back on their wedding day. I love girl as much now as I did then, as we've gone through the challenges, triumphs, and pure mayhem that comes from being married. I've never been pushed so much in doing anything in my life, but then again, I've never wanted anything so much in my life, either.
So for us, we are heading out for a quiet weekend on the Oregon Coast, and we'll be back next week, and things will return to normal, or as close to normal as it can get for a married couple, living with their mother in law and 7 crazy cats. To those that have provided kind words, support, a shoulder to cry on, a beer to drink down or anything in support of our first year, I say thank you for being there when we needed it. It's been a crazy ride, but one that I believe has more fun, more twists and turns, and more happiness on the way.
POST SCRIPTS - You can't be serious. Apparently the town up north wants to corner the market on sports colors that make the eyes hurt and the sensibilities quiver. Couldn't happen to a better place, really.
The Trail Blazers have a magic number of 2 to qualify for this year's playoffs, ending their streak of 6 years without post season play. And I was beginning to like going to draft parties and talk about the possibilities. Seriously, it's about time for this team, and while we may not win a title this year, we have the foundation for something truly wonderful. And we are going to look good doing it, even if the uniforms are slightly changing. They've grown on me a bit, although at first glance, I have to say they weren't my favorite.
Save the Made in Oregon sign. As much as I like the Ducks, they don't need to mess with a Portland landmark, simply because they are renting the building that the sign is on. Icons are meant to be preserved.
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