and we're rolling...

so as i sit here in the public library, the walhalla branch (where we now reside), taking refuge in the only place with free wi-fi, i'm grabbing a moment to sit back and reflect on the past couple of weeks...i'm married...(pause for weightiness)...yep, i'm married. the hopeless romantic/uber-cynic is now an old married man. ;-)

the wedding was nothing short of amazing. beautiful weather, family and friends. a radiant and totally sexy bride. fellowship. fun. so much "stuff" on and in our get-away car. it was sweet. a few days in Helen, Ga, thanks to my brother and his connections. all in all, amazing.

so this finds us back in real life. i have done more moving of boxes and assorted things in the last few days than i ever did in my time around Clemson. i'm sick of the smell of cardboard and the pain of splinters. and i realized even more why i don't own many earthly possessions. i am always tempted to leave it all behind and start fresh. Keri does not share these same ideas. go figure.

but the house is becoming more livable day-by-day, one room at a time. somewhere between the boxes and bags, and the puppies. we find a few minutes each day for us. its a sweet time, mixed with the sounds of a dishwasher and a clothes dryer, dogs scurrying about, and the occasional creak and moan of the ole house. i love it. i truly do.

this season will be a great time of learning. it already is. i'm learning the depths of my selfishness, and of my grace. i'm learning to let go, and hold on. i'm learning to embrace keri rose's beauty even more. she is wonderful. i'm learning again and again how God takes care of his own.

"Give me a fruitful error any time, full of seeds, bursting with its own corrections. You can keep your sterile truth for yourself." ~Vilfredo Pareto

all is well...

married! more to come soon, when we get settled in our house, and start figuring out how to do this living together-share everything dealy...

it's time...

“I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance,
A church filled with family and friends.
I asked him what kind of a wedding he wished for,
He said one that would make me his wife.”

in my morning reading and meditation time, i came across this quote. i found it all too true. in these last days before the wedding, all the planning and desires for perfection seem to fall away in this thought, "i can't wait to marry you." don't get me wrong, i sincerely appreciate the beauty and symbolism of the day, the preparation time, the elements, and the rest. it is sweet, and i embrace it. but there are moments where it just feels like too much. i just want to steal away with my bride. she is what this day is about, what all this preparation is for. but here we are, three days away. my suit is pressed and hanging by the door, my vows in the pocket of my coat. i am ready.

the long wait is over. i have found her. she is mine. i am hers. and we get to celebrate that surrounded by love and joy and well-wishers. i look longingly forward to seeing dear friends. i miss them, and am glad that this day calls us back together. my brothers and sisters, warriors in the trenches with me. it is a day to lift a glass to all the ones we love. make merry and sing songs. dance with joy, dance with all our might. so as we prepare to eat, drink, and be merry, i stop here to say thanks to you all. you who have been a part of this journey, bittersweet as it has been. but beautiful. always beautiful...

"I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new."- Ralph Waldo Emerson