Wedding Hiccup #1

We can't get married during Lent if we want to get married in a church. We really want to get married at St. John's. Therefore, we can't get married in March. Which means that we either have to get married in January and not have a honeymoon until March, or get married in May after Susannah's graduation. I hate May. I hate summer. I don't want to wait a year to get married. I don't want to have a generic late Spring/early Summer wedding. I don't want to get married that close to when we leave for graduate school. But if we try for this Fall or Winter we won't have enough time to plan, and we'll be stressed out by grad school applications, and we'll have to take a honeymoon over Christmas break.

You'd think a window of over a year would provide enough time to find one day that works for everyone. Apparently we're going to have to settle for one day that works for everyone except the bride.

Wedding Version 1.0

So I thought it would be fun to track how the wedding plans change between now and the actual day. They say you never end up with the wedding you plan starting out. Here's how things stand two days after the proposal:

Date: Saturday, March 27, 2010
Church: St. John's Episcopal Church in Olympia
Reception venue: Water Street Cafe or the Center for the Performing Arts
Colors: Black, white, and silver
Guest estimate: 100-150
Honeymoon: Lanai, Vancouver, or Kalaloch

I'll try to update this every time there's a major development or change to the plan. Should be a fun experiment!

The One Ring

Please ignore my weirdly-shaped and stubby fingers and focus on the pretty. Trevor informs me that my fingers are so small that the jeweler had to specially alter one of her existing designs so that the peridot gems would be closer together. So no one else has a ring like this.

Wow!

I'm engaged! The proposal took me by a surprise, was very simple, very adorable, and very Trevor. Love the ring: silver and peridot. Pics to come (hopefully) soon. I'll probably post more about it when I've had some time to process. All I've done since I said yes is make phone calls so far.

My Day Thus Far

This is an interpretation, often with what people meant rather than what they actually said.

Me: "Hello there, trial court clerk. Can we have copies of some exhibits?"
TCC: "No problem! I'll get them scanned and send them--Oh. Wait. I guess the trial attorney designated them all, so we sent them over to the Court of Appeals."
Me: "All of them?"
TCC: "Yup."
Me: "Okay... Um, when did they get sent over?"
TCC: "January."
Me: "But we weren't even appointed until Feb--Nevermind. Thank you. I'll call the Court."

*I freak out with Boss for a few mins and Boss agrees to take charge*

Boss: "Hello, case manager. It appears you have our exhibits. Can we have copies?"
CM: "I don't have time to make copies."
Boss: "But we were hoping to file our brief by Friday..."
CM: "Why didn't you order the exhibits earlier?"
Boss: "Because your new system is stupid and we never had any problems with getting exhibits until you changed everything for no reason."
CM: "All right. Well, call the trial court clerk and have him fax us a request so we can send the exhibits back to the trial court, and then he can make copies for you."
Boss: "...Can't I just ask you to send the exhibits back right now?"
CM: "No, it has to be all official and stuff."
Boss: "Okay. Great. Thanks so much for your help. *hangs up phone and turns to me* "We're asking for a thirty-day extension on the brief."
Me: "I figured. Wax poetic in the motion about injustice and bureaucracy?"
Boss: "Yup."
Me: "Excellent."

Ugh

A horribly stressful period is even more difficult when you have nothing much to look forward to but more of the same.

Mother's Day

There are so many people who won't have mothers in the way that I have a mother. People whose mothers have died, who can't be with them for one reason or another, or, worst of all, who are there but don't seem to care about them.

My life has been blessed with two parents who love me, and even better, who like me. They want to be around me. They're interested in who I am and want to be a part of my life.

I cannot imagine a better mother than mine. She is a strong career woman, but still had time for us. My father took many of the traditional parenting roles, but my mother has still always been nurturing and loving.

I've grown up and moved away and she still calls, still sends care packages, still looks forward to seeing me. And because I love her and like her and respect her I miss her and look forward to talking to her and seeing her. She's one of my closest friends, and I know very few people who can say that about either of their parents.

Best of all, my mother has always tried to be there for children who don't have mothers in their lives for one reason or another. My friends always found refuge at our house. My roommates in college were always sent gifts and care packages when something was going wrong in their lives and they didn't have mother-figures who could or would be there for them. Even now, when college has been through for a year, she still asks after them and sends them gifts.

I am the kind of person who hates gender distinctions. I don't think there should be a Mother's Day or a Father's Day, but rather, simply a Parent's Day, where we celebrate all parents, and all that they do for their (and sometimes others') children.

Mom, you are the best parent and friend I could hope for (though you may have to share that title with dad). Happy Mother's Day.