Mess and Music, 25 January 2014

This evening I cooked a tasty, healthy dinner for us, and this is what the kitchen looked like afterward:

It wasn't even that complicated of a meal.  The red peppers in the pasta sauce were from a can, the broccoli was a la carte out of the microwave, and dessert majored on canned pears and melted chocolate chips.  To be completely honest, I looked at this mess and asked myself, "Is cooking worth it?"

Obviously, any self-respecting domestic engineer would answer: "Maybe."  Or, "Sometimes."  I do have some other-worldly friends who prioritize their family's nutrition so highly that they spend multiple, entire days of the week in the kitchen.  Hopefully their husbands do dishes for them (thank you Jay for being awesome about dishwashing, even though I don't spend that much time cooking).  I even have some friends--possibly descended from ancient Greek divinity--who claim to enjoy doing dishes.  I don't understand those friends, but I like them.

Enough whining.  On days cooking just isn't worth the mess to us, we'll leaf through our stack of coupons and get take-out.  Don't hate it--appreciate it!

Speaking of appreciating, I managed to find two pairs of shoes on a double sale today that were comfortable, cute, the right colors, and in my size.  Show and tell!

Love those red tags!  Aren't the heels lovely?  I promise they're comfortable!

The reasons I needed these shoes are as follows: 1) The two business-type pairs of brown shoes I wore regularly finally gave out after 8 and 5 years, respectively.  2) The one pair of brown heels I've had are incredibly cute but a half-size too small, really only suitable for wearing places I can sit down and kick them off.  3) I'm working at a job where I walk and stand for a few hours at a time...while not wearing sneaker-compatible outfits.

For anyone tuning in to Mostly Today for the first time since mid-December, you may be surprised to discover that I started a money-earning job on January 2nd!  I'm a part-time, interim music director for a local church, planning their Sunday and Wednesday service music, teaching and directing their adult choir, leading singing during the services, and teaching two elementary-aged kids' music classes each week.

It's been a total BLAST.  I mean it!  There is so much about this job that I love: the people, the music, the planning, the using-my-skills-and-education, the income, the way it stretches my brain and opens my heart.

Check out my office!  What's not to love?!

There are challenges of course, like figuring out how to engage 10-year-old boys in a music class when they'd really rather be wrestling and yelling.  (If you music-teacher-types have any suggestions, please comment.)  Another challenge is figuring out daily logistics with Jay, given that I'm less available for domestic engineering, but this has been pretty smooth, thus-far.  Probably the smallest-scale challenge has to do with footwork...or should I say, footwear.  But as of today that's taken care of, so I think this coming week will be off to a good start...or should I say, will start off on the right foot.

Tomorrow morning, I even get to bust out a Handel solo!  Wow.  Singing classical arias in a church service, sandwiched between Scripture readings, Holy Communion, and choral praise to the Lord?  It doesn't get much better than that.

P.S.  On second thought, one thing that very possibly does get better than that is becoming an auntie again!  Congratulations to my sister Kay and her husband on the birth of Baby C!!!  He's my favorite nephew born this year.  :-D

Letter to Mom, 05 January 2014

Dear Mom,

It sure would be nice to be able to talk to you on the phone today!  I really identify with you when I'm involved in leading a worship service.  I think I learned a whole lot about working in a church from observing your many years as a church pianist and organist.

For example, I rarely recall seeing you flustered.  Focused, yes, and sometimes a little tense while getting ready in the morning, but you maintained an inner calm and composure.  Watching you taught me about preparing my outer appearance, too.  You always took the time to style your hair (thankfully I don't need curlers), carefully apply your eye makeup, and dress in attractive but unassuming clothing.  Sometimes I watched you get ready, and my favorite part was waiting to see which earrings you'd choose.  This morning, I thought carefully about my earrings, makeup, hair, and outfit too!  :-)

Watching you showed me what being friendly to the other church attenders can look like.  You'd smile widely whenever anyone approached you--and you had delightful ways of responding to people's various comments.  I got to use your "make a joke when someone pays you a compliment you're not sure how to absorb" method this morning.  After the service, an older gentlemen came up to me and said it felt like I'd been part of the church for years.  I smiled widely and said, "Are you saying I aged during the service?"  We got a good chuckle out of that.

You had gracious smiles during each Sunday service, even if you didn't always agree with what someone said or did.  I remember this sort of close-lipped smile you'd get; it wasn't unpleasant-looking or dismissive--it said, "I don't agree with that but I'm not going to say so right now."  I have my own version of that smile, often accompanied by me saying, "Oh, okay," or, "I'm glad you told me that."

You wanted things to be done excellently on Sundays (and always, really), on the part of the leaders and the congregation, both.  Any time there's a "clapping" song in which there's some discrepancy with people clapping on or off the beat, I remember a time you were seated off the stage with us, and apparently, the majority of the people were clapping on the wrong beats.  You boldly clapped loudly throughout the whole song on the "right" beats...with a smile!

When this morning's service finished, the first thing I thought about when I got into my car was, "What am I going to make for lunch?  I'm tired."  How you and Dad put wholesome, large meals on the table every Sunday afternoon is beyond me.  (Thankfully, Jay took the boys to get soups from a deli today, so I was off the hook!)  Sometimes, especially after you got polymiositis, you were too tired to even eat when you got home, so you'd go straight up to bed for a nap.  While I am thankfully in good health, I did still need a nap today--but I took it after lunch.

Thank you for all this--and so much more--that you taught me by example.  I'm sure you'd be proud of the way I'm using my musical and interpersonal skills during this season of my life.  I sure wish you were here to see it; but then again, if you were here, you'd be busy in your church on Sunday mornings and wouldn't ever get to see me in action!  And maybe you can see me now...from the Heavenly organ bench you sit on.  I love you.

Love,
Rachel

Bacon & Eggs, Peanut Butter & Chocolate, Jay & Rachel, 03 January 2014

This will be a quick little post because I can barely keep my eyes open, but today was such a good example of how well-suited to each other Jay and I are, that I can't pass up the opportunity to say something about it.

For Jay, yesterday and today blended together because he stayed up til 4-something this morning playing a video game (thank you, winter break!).  I got up with the kids this morning to give them breakfast, but Jay was up before 8:30 to take over--at which time I left for my second day of work!

While I spent about 4 hours up to my elbows in choral music (so fun!!), Jay let the kids do a little video gaming, but then took them to do our grocery shopping (doing all their laundry and scrubbing the kitchen were his domestic projects of yesterday).  He helped G and Z pick out a special lunch from the deli, which delighted them to no end.

I returned home just after noon, at which time Mr. and Mrs. FIL scooped up the kids for an overnight adventure, and my date-day with Jay began!  Our day out was a great combination of things we each like.

1. We ate a snack of leftovers
2. We went to a thrift store
3. Where I tried on tons of clothes as Jay threw them over the dressing room door for me (this was Jay's favorite part of date-day)
4. We left with a big bag of name-brand clothes for $12.50
5. We went out for dinner and milkshakes at my choice of restaurant
6. We hit one last store--Jay's choice--to look at plastic food storage containers
7. We watched one episode of a history documentary we both enjoy (my favorite part of date-day)
8. Jay played two more hours of video game
9. I watched him for the first 20 minutes and spent the rest of the time sitting near him at our piano, finishing up choral music decisions
10. Jay turned off the game and installed a new faucet in our bathroom
11. I got into bed

Tomorrow we'll wake up without the kiddies or alarms, and then I'll probably fix a couple sprinklers and clean a rabbit hutch while Jay looks for more shopping or dishes to do.

A few questions:

• Are we super-boring old-fogies?
• Is Jay amazing because he cleans, grocery shops, loves clothes shopping, and installs faucets?
• Am I weird that I'd rather work on sprinklers than go to a kitchen store?
• Is it time for me to go to sleep now?

The answer to all of these questions is the same, of course.  YES.

P.S. For those of you who were wondering, my first days of work have been great!  I got done the big things on my list and feel like I've got a good handle on what I need to do going into Sunday and next week.  I've been enjoying meeting a few more members of the congregation, too.  :-)

An Unexpected Gift, 28 December 2013

Today I am recovering from Christmas!  Thanks to my blessed FIL and Mrs. FIL, the kids had a sleepover with them last night and I slept until 9:00 this morning.  Heavenly!  Now, after hot tea and a toasted bagel, I'm back under the blankets, still in my flannel nightgown (no photos forthcoming).  I can think of few better ways to recover from the flurry of planning and socializing that characterized this year's holiday!  (Okay, let's be honest: a bungalow on a white-sanded beach or a cabin in snow-bound woods could probably be even more restorative than this, but both of those involve driving or flying, plus rental fees, so I think I'm good with the current scenario.)

While out to a delicious New Orleans-style dinner last night (thank you again to the FILs!), Jay and I discussed how we can prevent next year's Christmas season from being as thoroughly exhausting as this year's was.  We came up with a few ideas.

1. Keep the house more orderly going into the hosting season to prevent a sudden loooooooooooooooong to-do list of chores.
2. Spread out the various family events.  Three Christmas celebrations three days in a row (with book-ending celebratory weekends) was just a bit much.
3. Pester gift recipients for their wishlists and do the shopping (preferably online) before December.
4. Apply for, be interviewed for, and accept any new jobs before mid-December.

I'm sure you nodded to yourself as you read the first three, possibly glazing over a bit at how predictably generic they are, but you may have been caught a bit off-guard by the last item.  I shall elaborate.

Jay read a book a number of years ago that described three main kinds of labor: Wage, Reproductive, and Domestic.  For the first years of our marriage, Jay and I were both engaged in full-time wage labor (working for a monetary income).  When we decided to start having kids, I shifted to part-time wage labor and full-time reproductive labor (growing a human being is a 24-7 job!).  Once we had two children, I transitioned into full-time domestic labor; some call this being a stay-at-home-mom, others call it being a homemaker, and my favorite is the title my parents gave it: Domestic Engineer.

I've used this cartoon in a post before.  I like it.  :-)  Although to be clear, I don't daily wear skirts and heels. And I don't drive a station wagon.

The above paragraph is a fancy way of saying that I have not had a money-paying job for over five years.  Jay and I are definitely at peace with that, because we place high value on all three kinds of labor, and this has seemed the best way to do things for our little family.  But starting January 2nd, I will have a money-earning job!

No, I'm not "going back to work" full-time (just 17 hours a week), and it's not even a permanent position.  I will be acting as Interim Music Director at a local church for three or four months while their leadership looks for a permanent person.  It will involve directing their small adult choir through rehearsals and Sunday mornings, teaching two 1/2-hour music classes to elementary kids once-a-week, and selecting and leading songs for two worship services per week.  This is a super opportunity for me for many reasons!

In the first place, this has come at a great time.  Those 17 hours a week include the weeknight/Sunday services, so my other prep time will fit neatly into the eight hours per week both my kids are at class.  In the second place, this is so great for me is because it is a temporary position.  I'm not ready to commit to a long-term wage-job, and Jay and I aren't ready to make decisions about whether we'd move our family to another congregation.  (While I'm working at this church, Jay and the kids will continue to attend our "regular" church family; it would just be too disruptive for the kids to switch congregations, and Jay and I are still very much "at home" there.)

A third reason this opportunity is perfect for me is that--unfortunately--the situation with the church's previous music director has been messy, and there are wounded people left in the wake.  One of the things they want in an interim director is someone who will enter and gently love on their congregation.  And you know what?  I'm really good at loving on people.  I'm not tooting my own horn here, it's just acknowledging that through my various life experiences, God has given me a growing capacity for compassion and tenderness.  This is not to say that I won't be extremely challenged and stretched through this time, but I think I'm coming into it with a background that prepares me well.

Another reason I'm so excited about this opportunity is that it is a paying music job.  Paying.  Music.  Don't get me wrong...I enjoy all the volunteer-music I do, but there is something incredible about being given money to use the skills I've worked so hard for (I have a Bachelor's of Music degree; for the whole long scoop on my history with music, grab a coffee and read about it here).  I am so excited about taking time to plan, produce, and participate in music on a consistent basis!  And I'm getting paid, too!!  WOW!!!

I'll try to moderate my music choices, heehee

Not gonna lie though...I'm nervous too.  Logistically, everything I've done in my few alone-time weekday morning hours will have to find other slots while I'm involved with this new job.  Emotionally, I'm coming into a somewhat volatile situation and I'm not sure what interpersonal dynamics/demands will be like.  Mentally, I'll be stretched by a new church service format and by the weekly kids' classes I'll be teaching, especially.  And this will certainly be challenging spiritually.  (My observation has been that when someone is in a ministry-type leadership position, they tend to get hit with a lot of life difficulties, from home plumbing problems to kid behavioral issues to health crises etc.  These things could be attributed to any number of factors; perhaps simply the added strain of leadership creates extra tension; but I believe that there are very real forces of good and evil at work in the world, and when the good is moving forward, the evil strikes back.  Star Wars, the Matrix, and a lot of other "epic" stories seem to tap into this idea.)

So yes, I'm really thrilled at this opportunity to use my music skills, gain new experience, meet new people, and be stretched as I love and learn.  The timing and the nature of it feels like such a gift from my loving God, even if it did enter my life in a particularly crazy month.  I'm thinking a little eggnog and television with my family just might be a great way to wind up our celebrations before this new whirlwind hits the first week of January.  A couple more mornings of sleeping-in would be great, too.

Happy New Year!

Bah Humbug, 18 December 2013

Today I stood in some long lines and made several gallons of soup by accident.

The logic of the soup-making went like this: "I'm going to feed 6 people tonight.  This recipe says 'Serves 6.'  So I'll make a double batch."

I probably could have paid attention to the amounts in the recipe--a cup of butter, 8 cups of chicken broth, 2 cups of milk, 1 cup of half-and-half, 1 cup of sour cream, and a pile of veggies.  Those amounts are for the single batch.

Two large pots, two large glass measuring bowls, a huge cutting board, and many knives, ladles, whisks, and taste-tests later, we had soup.  And we will have soup.  For days.  Good thing we like how it tastes!

Meanwhile, I'm not enjoying Christmas.  To be honest, I haven't wanted to blog over the past almost-2 months because I thought to myself, "I only blog when I'm sad or when I cook too much food.  No one wants to read more about me being sad."  But the reality is that I am sad.

Our Christmas-decorating tradition for several years running had Grammy G as a pivotal figure, and the kids and I went Christmas light cruising with her the last two years.  This year, she's not here and I haven't really felt like doing those things.  Yes, we put up the tree for the kids and made Christmas cookies and I'll hang up stockings.  But my heart just isn't into it, you know?

NOT.

Which brings me to standing in long lines today.  As I'm sure many of you know, when one isn't enjoying Christmas, being trapped in a line of 15 people waiting for one single cashier in a store with cheesy holiday music blasting out of overhead speakers is just about enough to make one scream at the world, "MAKE IT STOP!!" and sprint out of the mall weeping, never ever to return.  Of course, the mall gremlins wouldn't actually shut off the music, and one's sweet children would be in tears if there weren't gifts under the tree come Christmas Day, so one stays in line, grits one's teeth, and takes deep breaths, screaming silently instead of at 120 decibels.

At least, that's the strategy I employed today.  Added to my Angst was the fact that the boys had a minimum day at school, so I knew I only had 2 hours (after slamming a load of dishes into the dishwasher and cramming a load of laundry into the washing machine) to get my shopping done.  I stood in four maddeningly slow-moving lines today, each one of which was almost enough to undo me.

But here's where this story gets good.  And when I say good, I mean good like God-makes-ugly-things-into-beautiful-ones good.

My first line of the morning was for an exchange at Toys 'R' Us.  'Nuff said.  By the next store, I still had five items on my master-list to purchase.  I agonized for quite some time over sale racks, trying to hit upon the perfect ratio of "cute" : "cheap," taking into account that if I spent $25, I'd get to use a coupon for $10 off.  (Score!)

Once I made a decision on three of my five required items, I headed to a checkout in the men's clothing section because I figured the line would be shorter, which it was.  Unfortunately, length of line < length of wait.  I'd just gotten to the teeth-gritting stage when I glanced at the people behind me and saw an acquaintance from one of my Al-Anon meetings.  I felt suddenly happier, knowing I had someone to chat with!  There's the first way God brought beauty to my day!

Janine and I exchanged chit-chat about what I was buying my sister and what she was buying her boyfriend, and I mentioned my dealio with the coupon.  Her eyes suddenly lit up at the thought of finding a coupon somewhere in the store, but her face visibly fell when I explained it had been mailed to me.  Neither of us had smart phones to find one online, either.  (I know, I know, so 20th century; come to think of it, I didn't have a cell phone of any kind in the 20th century.  Or a car.  Or a laptop.  Dude.)

Finally, it was my turn in line.  Part of me wanted to gut my purchase, forego the discount, and hand off the coupon to Janine.  The other part of me wanted to hurry up and buy the three items I'd agonized over (which added up to $27.53), get my savings, and escape from the store.  But God had other plans.

"I'm sorry, this $6.00 item is on clearance and doesn't count toward the $25 for your coupon."  I looked up at the cashier and expected to feel a surge of frustration...but instead, I felt relief!  "No problem," I surprised myself by saying, "I'll just buy the one that's $9.59 instead of all three.  Here!" I called to my Al-Anon friend behind me in line.  "You take this coupon!"

Seriously, I think she almost fell over.  Saving ten dollars is a plus for me, but I think it was a game-changer for her.  She couldn't thank me enough.  "No problem, I can't use it anyway, really.  And...merry Christmas, Janine."

That would be already be a great closing line for this post!  But it's not the end.

Given that I gutted my purchase at the can't-use-my-coupon store, I headed down the mall to a different retailer, hoping to replace the two discarded items.  Let me describe the check-out line at this place by saying that from the time I went into the store to the time I decided on the replacement items and got in line, one person had been checked out.  I started deep breathing right away.  Then I remembered what a pastor had said once about using waiting times to pray, so I prayed a little.  My prayer went something like this:

"Lord, I'm feeling overwhelmed.  I don't have very much time.  Excuse me, is there another person who can help check out?  Only one of you can do that?  Really? Oh.  I'm feeling discouraged at prices for the gifts I'm looking for.  But thank You for allowing me to share the coupon with Janine.  If they can only have one cashier, couldn't they have one that's fast?  Umm, so yeah, please help me with my time and decisions today.  Oh, the gal in front of me isn't wearing makeup either.  Good."

Just as I noticed the makeupless customer ahead of me, two of her friends breezed in from another store.  "I just got a steal!" one of them exclaimed.  "Mega markdown!"  My eyes darted to her shopping bag and noted the name of the store she'd just come from--a store I hadn't even thought of visiting.  Then it was my turn at the check-out.

Sure enough, minutes later at mega markdown store I found the last two items on my list...for exactly the price I'd been hoping to pay!

Which I wouldn't have found because I wouldn't have shopped there if I hadn't been delayed long enough at Toys 'R' Us to be in line at the same time as Janine at the second store; and if all three items had worked for my coupon, I couldn't have given it to Janine and I wouldn't have visited the third store; and if I hadn't been in line long enough at the third store, I wouldn't have heard the conversation about mega markdown.

See?  Good stuff.

Of course, I still had to actually purchase the last two items, which involved yet another line with yet another lonely cashier.  But this time, my prayer was a little different.

"Wow Lord, I'm really amazed at how You've brought good things out of frustration today.  Is there any particular reason I'm waiting forever in this line?  Someone You want me to talk to?  Something You want me to see?  Please open my eyes so that I can see You working in my life at this moment, just as You have been all day.  I bet Hello Kitty is so popular now because all the grown-ups buying it were kids when it was first popular.  This is the second time I've heard the Beach Boy's Christmas song today.  Oh, so yeah, thank You for being so good."

As it turns out, no miracles--that I know of--happened during my last long wait of the day.  But I was calmer.  I felt loved.  Loved because the God of the universe cares enough about the infinitesimally-small details of my wonky life to make good things happen.  Even little good things, like finding sales and sharing coupons.

I think after today--though I'm still grieving through this difficult season--my heart is a little more ready to celebrate the Big Good thing God did, making Himself a human baby and being born in a stable, 2000 years ago...so that He could ultimately save us from all things ugly.

Merry Christmas, and may you have a Hopeful New Year.

A New Season of Grief Begins, 27 October 2013

I am so tired of working through grief.

Today, three days before the second anniversary of Jay's mom's death, we told our kids their Grammy G is now in Heaven with Jesus.  This is the third grammy they've lost in 3.5 years, and the third mother-figure I've lost.

While Grammy is not legally related to us, she has been our closest family friend for the last 8 years, since before our son G was born.  I've mentioned her in a few posts, most notably in the strawberry jam adventure, but I'd like to spend little more time expressing how much she meant to us.

We met at church, got to know each other more while she and I worked for the same company, and fully adopted her into our lives as Grammy when Jay and I found out we were expecting our first baby.  I remember lounging in her living room one sunny afternoon while feeling morning-sick, and announcing the news of my pregnancy to her.  Her whole being glowed while she reached forward for a hug and said, "Oh honey!  I thought so."  She's been part of every major event--and countless humdrum ones--ever since.

Grammy isn't in very many of my photographs because I always knew I'd be seeing her again in a couple days; she's the kind of person I unconsciously assumed would always be around.  Just like we "happened" to go to the same church and "happened" to work at the same company, we also "happened" to live just a few blocks apart; we even lost our homes around the same time and both "happened" to move to new neighborhoods, which were again a few blocks apart from each other.  I'd often pack the baby (or babies) into the stroller and walk to her house for play time.  She had special toys she always got out for the boys, and going to her house was like going to Disneyland.  Even just last week, my 2nd grader and Kindergartner were asking to go Grammy's house.  They still excitedly play with the same toys (plus a host of others she's added to the collection over the last seven years).

Grammy has been to every birthday of both boys, plus every Christmas tree decorating and Easter egg hunt.  She took pictures of the boys in their costumes every October.  She counted their first teeth.  She interpreted their cries and first words.  When she retired a few years ago, she became our first-call baby sitter, equally available booked in advance or an hour ahead of time.  Even though plagued with back and leg pain, she occasionally took both kids for a night or two at a time--and I'm not sure who chomped at the bit for those visits most...Jay and I, the kids, or Grammy!

Grammy set up this informal photo shoot for G's first Halloween.

And for his third, she helped him make cookies.

Grammy has been more than a friend to my kids, though.  She has been a friend to me.

Being a "crafty" person, Grammy had a closet-full of party decor: ribbons, streamers, bobbles, candles, stickers, platters, centerpieces...plus a whole lot of ideas and experience.  When I hosted a baby shower, I went to her and her closet first.  When my siblings and I pulled off a surprise party for my parents' 30th anniversary, the decor was carefully packed from Grammy's closet and spirited away to the party.  When Jay and I had his parents over for their 30th anniversary, I used Grammy's dishes and tinsel.  As I prepared for Jay's sister's wedding, she tirelessly helped with decorating or watching my kids, as need arose.

At my parents' home, with Grammy's centerpieces and place-cards

This picture (and below) is at our previous home, celebrating my in-laws (on St. Patrick's Day); all decor is Grammy's, except the large painting and the China dishes on the table.

She has been there for me with advice, laughter, and encouragement in the riotous, hilarious, exasperating moments of motherhood.  She's been the #1 fan of my garden and flowers (just last week I texted her pictures of five bouquets I'd made, and she responded with delight to every one).  Her startlingly-helpful wardrobe advice has resulted in the cutest outfits I have.  When I went to visit my sister abroad, Grammy expertly packed my over-full suitcases.  She has sent many texts to me over the years, encouraging and affirming me as a person.  When I look at my timeline of loss, she was my first call and the first tearful hug at each crisis.  She's folded my laundry, done my dishes, swept my kitchen floor.  Needless to say, Grammy's on my speed dial.

There are ways I've been a special friend to her, too, and I mention them here not to toot my own horn, but to demonstrate the kind of unique friendship we had.  (Besides, no matter how much I helped her with anything, it never felt like I'd done half as much as she had to help me.)  Grammy cried on my shoulder during some of her hard times, and I walked her through a number of them.  When her back pain became too much to bear at a desk job, she sat on my couch and we filled out disability retirement paperwork together.  When her mortgage turned upside-down during the housing crash, I scheduled and accompanied her to HUD consultations.  I attended her father's memorial service (she attended my mother's and MIL's) and spent hours listening to stories--happy and sad--of her childhood and youth.  Because she never had internet at her home, she'd sometimes come over for my help if the need arose to print something or retrieve information from a website.

In short, Grammy has been like a mom to me since before I became a mom, myself.  I never imagined raising my kids without my mother living, but I knew I still had Jay's mom...and Grammy.  I never imagined raising my kids without Jay's mom living, but I knew I still had Grammy.  And now...

...I simply cannot imagine my life without Grammy.  So I won't.  Not today.  Today had enough of its own burden as Jay and I prepared and sat with the kids to tell them about this third great loss of their young lives.  We hugged them and cried with them and hugged them some more.

My little boys will get more hugs from us tomorrow, and I know I have other dear friends and family who will give me hugs, too.  But oh! why can't I have a hug from Grammy?

"I Do" and Still Do, 12 October 2013

Today makes 11 years since the day Jay and I were married!

Happy Anniversary, Darling.  I thought I was head-over-heels about you then, but compared to now, I didn't even know you!  Now I'm crazy about you, for sure.

Huh, makes me wonder how I'll feel after the next 11 years!  The better I know you, the more I love you.

Here's to another year of growing in our relationship and falling deeper in love with each other.

Love,
Wifey

P.S. Think you'll ever wear tails again?  I kinda have to agree with my mom that it looks dashing.