I cannot tell you just how truly amazing Caleb is. I couldn't ask for a better man to marry, and to share my future with. I know he'll read this, so, Caleb, you are amazing, and I love you. And.. without the support of my family and Caleb, I would be even more of a basket case than I already am right now =] So, thanks everyone, I love you's bunches!
How about I start at the top of the list and go down..? Seattle and airplanes. Wow. I wasn't super nervous to fly, but it soon made me flustered. I was okay being at the airport early, walking through metal detectors, and then boarding a cramped plane and sitting there for forty five minutes. Take off was even okay, until the plane tilted at what seemed like forty five degrees while turning and ascended at an awkward angle - at the same time. I about lost the waffles I had eaten for breakfast. Once we stabalized I was okay though =] Well, we got to Seattle okay and on time, and Caleb's cousin (who was getting married the next day (hence our reasoning for going to Seattle)) picked us up from the airport. We then went out to a restaurant with a bunch of Caleb's family called 'The Crab Pot' where I had a Salmon BLT - a regular BLT with salmon added, and tartar sauce instead of mayo - and it was delicious! We walked around town a bit with his family, and then him, his sister, and I went to the Space Needle. It was really cool. You can see so much from the top, even the mountain (Mt. Rainer?). Anyway, it was cool. The next day we went to the wedding. It was beautiful. She was gorgeous and glowing, and everything went soo well. Caleb and I got picked on by the kids (mainly Caleb though) and played along. They're so much fun, love 'em to death =] After the wedding, we spent some time around town and then got back to the airport a little bit after eleven pm. It was a long night.. our flight was supposed to leave around one am, but maintenance had to be done on the plane, and we didn't end up leaving until almost two am. When we landed in Minneapolis, we were late and had to book it to our next gate. Luckily a guy had just pulled up in a golf cart, so he gave us a ride. Well, it turned out that maintenance was being done on our next plane, so we weren't late, but we had to sit and wait a while. Soooo to end those two and half quick days, we finally got back to town. As soon as we got back at around three, I flopped down on the couch and crashed, woke up at nine pm, ate dinner, drove home, and then slept for another eigth or so hours. Pooped wouldn't even start to describe it. But it was a great trip! Seattle is a really cool city and there's so much to do. I hold fast to my claim of being a small town girl though =]
This was the hanging sign inside the Crab Pot - I thought it was a fun sign for inside a restaurant =]
Next: one year with Caleb. As of April 8th, we had been together officially a year, but unofficially.. a few months longer =] haha. We have done so much stuff together I can't even begin to tell you everything. All I can say is that I am so ready to marry him! I can't wait to be his support, his cheerleader, and life long best friend. He is an amazing man, and I am blessed that God brought him into my life.
Caro... has always been home. Even after I moved here, I always called it home, along with the house I live in now. A strange thing has been happening though. Every time I visit, I miss the town more. The place I live now is bigger and has so much more to do, but I think Caro will always be home. I had another thought, too.. it might be because I miss my family, the wedding is so close, and its starting to get to my head. Either way, I love the town, even after I've moved away and have a different life.
Graduating from college was.. different. My graduating class at college was smaller than my graduating class in high school, which made me laugh. You always hear about these freakishly large, long, and boring college graduations, and mine wasn't at all. I still haven't gotten my actual diploma in the mail though.. haha.. but I have the cover if you want to see ;) One thing that intrigued me about graduation was that the invocation and benediction were prayers. I had just done a presentation about religion in public education institutions, so I had questions about the legality of everything in the presentation it seemed. So, when the pastor got up and started praying, my mind started racing. I'm not opposed to prayers, I actually thought it was pretty cool, but I knew from the research and presentation I had just given that it was illegal for an adult to do that. I emailed my education professor, and he said that it has been a tradition at our school for a long time to pray at graduation ceremonies, meetings, etc. My question of legality was addressed, though, in regards to our institution as being higher education so something like that doesn't seem as imposing on people because adults aren't as easily swayed as children (which could be up for debate), and not yet being challenged. I was told that if challenged, the legal process for the situation would be long and expensive, and no one has dared to bring that process upon themself quite yet, so the prayers still stand. I thought it was interesting to look into, but my research findings for religion in public K-12 education were different than regulations for institutions of higher education.
On to frustrations.. where do I start.. ha. The whole process of planning a wedding has been way much more than I could ever handle on my own, and I am so glad I've had people next to me to help! Finishing up a degree while working and planning a wedding in five months has been truly hard and quite frustrating at times. I've had to bite my tongue more times in the past five months than I can remember.. whether it be so I don't say something unkind, just lash out, interrupt when I don't agree with something, or just be rotten altogether. I can't even remember how many times I reminded myself how James told us to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry (James 1:19), and that "The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell" (James 3:6). I'm used to doing most everything myself, so when people try to help its hard to let go of stuff and just let them do it. I'm so very thankful for every single ounce of help I've been given, but there have honestly been times when I just wanted to not go around people because I knew I was going to get a list of questions that I didn't have answers for. I've had feelings not only of frustration and anger, but I've also been intimidated, felt looked down upon, and treated like a child. Of course, all the last three of those did was fuel my anger, which wasn't good at all, and frustrate me even more. There was a time when I didn't want to be around people, and didn't want to talk about wedding planning at all, I just wanted to be left alone with my own wedding to-do list so I could get some of my stuff done. I came to conclude that it was a viscious circle and that I just had to figure out a way to try and interpret the things the people were doing in a different way. That, let me tell you, has been so hard. Its getting better though =] I'll just say that I'll be glad when all the planning craziness is over. Don't get me wrong, planning has been fun, intriguing, and a good experience, but I'm all planned out. I just want to get married at this point! =]
So, all that to say a lot has been going on lately. I feel guilty about not writing in here, but I like to write so my posts end up being pretty long, and I rarely have time to actually sit down and take the time to write them. Anyway, thats whats up.
PS. My good friend and I decided that no one needs a welcoming into adulthood, because the general welcome is a newly charged high level of stress! Haha =]
Have a good day!
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