One year ago today

My older brother has been with his wife for more than half of their lives and married for almost ten.  

So when he toasted us at our rehearsal party and said, "Pay attention every day, because the years pass quickly." I knew he must know what he's talking about. 

He's right.

I cannot believe that an entire year has passed since the hitchin'.

And it's been a big year.  

We've knocked out (or made a big dent in) most of the major milestones...marriage, major move, cultural adjustments, employment instability (then stability), family illnesses, travel and sometime in the next few weeks, we'll have a Pickle, as well. 

And even with all of it, it's been really good and mainly a whole lot of fun. 

I don't know how we got so lucky, but we're both pretty sure staying lucky comes down to remembering something the Big D said a few weeks before.  

I asked her for advice and she said,"Why don't you two just try to always be nice to each other. Then see how it goes."

And thus far, it's been going really well.  

The Hitchin' Happened

Yep, I have a husband, a ring and a marriage certificate, but I don't have a completely clear memory of the entire events of our wedding day. It came so quickly and then was over.

There are things I remember with complete clarity:

Being so excited to see Husband on that morning when he was waiting for me at the alter, I hitched up my dress and ran just so I could get there quicker. Which is only fitting because I always said that I wasn't going to get married until I found someone just right. Someone who when I saw him at the end of the aisle, I was going to be so excited about it that I was going to skip to him at the very least. And, without really thinking about it, that's pretty much what I did.

Though I was really disappointed in my father for deciding not to take part, especially at such a late moment, I couldn't have been more happy to have mom walk me down the aisle. If we're going to follow the tradition of "giving away", then the person who is doing the giving should be the one person with the authority to do it. And there is no one in my life who has more authority in that capacity than my mother. She raised my brother, sister and me, mainly on her own, and we wouldn't be half whatever it is that we are without her guidance, then or now.

Being so touched (and I mean that in the non-Hallmark card, shot though a fuzzy lens, way) at the generous out pouring of love, time, effort and genuine good spirits from the very first moment that Husband and I received from the minute we announced we were going to get married. And further, that we'd like to get married in just under two months.

That almost every single person who was really important showed up. They traveled from California and New York and Atlanta and Colorado and all over the country to be there. The ones that couldn't were just too pregnant or had life events that couldn't be rescheduled. And even those called and supported and were there from far away.

But for the rest of it, much like any couple on any wedding day, we didn't get a good chance to visit with many of our guests. We didn't hear all the Vivaldi we chose for the ceremony or drink a bloody mary or eat more than one bite of the fancy cream cheese pound wedding cake.

And there were little moments, dancing with my stepfather or having my new nephews get sugared up and tap me on the back and pop around the other side or looking across the room and seeing friends from different areas of my life start to be friends with each other....but I guess it was a little bit like not seeing the forest for the trees.

We missed a lot of it, so we have been so excited about seeing the photos and watching the video, if just to prove it really happened.

And according to the email I got last night, it did.

Elizabeth and Anthony's Wedding Slideshow