Well, it's official. I'm a wife. While I look back on this past week and half it seems like it has come and gone way too fast, and at the same time some of the hurdles we had to cross make me cringe. I feel pretty confident saying this far in advance; this is sure to be a fairly lengthy blog, so if you feel the need to skim through some it is fine. I just don't want to forget anything when I look back later.
So let's go back to Thursday the 17th..two days before the wedding. My dad and his family had gotten in Wednesday night late. My mom and Kay Kay came in that day early. Baker-Smith and Sal Pal came in late afternoon. I worked all day. Josh took my dad fishing. Thursday night after work I went to the reception hall as fast as possible...everyone began decorating an hour earlier. It looked great. I gave my opinion here and there, and then we all left to find food. We ended up at Chili's, and from that point on I felt like the night was not on my side. I cried in the car, I cried walking in, I cried sitting at the table. I was just so emotional and so sad because I felt like the wedding would come and go so quickly and I just wanted to be able to spend time with my family and friends. My tears were dried, my fears were calmed, and after dinner everyone came to the house for a little quality time.
Friday morning we hit the ground running. Between dropping off dogs, getting fingers and toes done, and getting ready for a rehearsal dinner there was too much to do and not enough time to do it. Everything came together, and thankfully my dad and Josh didn't mind working their tails off to make everything perfect. Rehearsal went smoothly. Auntie S was the perfect coordinator as she tried to whip the boys into shape and voice some of my concerns about traditions to the preacher. Before we knew it we were out of there and headed to the dinner. At the dinner we all had a fabulous time. Surrounded by friends and family, I couldn't have asked for anything more perfect. The fish and Indonesian cuisine were out of this world, the crawfish were to die for, and the oysters were fantastic! Perfect night ending with all of the girls coming to stay with me and telling stories and gossiping until we all fell asleep.
Saturday was wedding day, but I was too busy to stress. I had my hair and make up done and my bridesmaids all came to a manicure and brunch that was hosted by the illustrious Crazy Ladies. Mimosas and a musical serenade made sure that we are a family the beauty shop will not soon forget! Then it was on to the church for pictures. This is when I started to have time to worry. The bridge was closed...THE bridge linking all my family, friends, and videographer from out of town to the wedding. Didn't the bridge know it was my wedding weekend? I panicked, but of course it worked out. The wedding proceeded, everyone was there, Josh and his dad halved the last piece of gum, but at the end of the day we were MARRIED!
The reception made everything worthwhile. Everything that we had been planning, working so hard on, culminated at this one time. It was amazing. I remember just looking around and being in complete bliss. It was exactly what I wanted. We all danced until we couldn't dance anymore. Josh and I kept saying we would leave, but we just didn't want to...we were having the time of our lives. The night was perfect, and there is no possible way that we could ever express our thanks enough. I cried when we left that night...I was sad to go, I didn't want to go on a cruise, I just wasn't sure what to do.
Sunday morning came, and we continued our journey to the port to catch our ship. We made it with perfect timing. Our bags were the right size so we chose to carry them on. We laughed at those poor saps checking in their bags...they were sure not to have them until the wee hours of the morning. Not us though...we would have our stuff whenever we wanted. We walked proudly through that terminal each strapped down with matching bags. But then the luggage Gods laughed at us. The shipped had been delayed over three hours coming in that morning because of fog...we were now in a major set back. We sat packed into a hot room with a thousand other people. Very quickly, our bags began to get heavy. Eventually the line started to move though, and we were yet again proud of ourselves for carrying our own bags. Four hours later, when we finally made it to the room, we had begun cussing our bags. Our shoulders had given out and were rebeling against the excess weight. Lesson learned...next time check your dang bags.
The ship was massive, our room had a gorgeous view from the balcony, everything seemed perfect...except Josh was sick. That was ok though because I am a nurse, and what good nurse does not pack her own poly-pharmacy for emergencies like this? I dosed him up and we were good to go. Except the medicine didn't help, so I dosed him again, and again. Two days, three trips to the onboard pharmacy, and sixty dollars later...Josh was feeling great! Good thing because the next stop was Jamaica!
Jamaica was gorgeous. The land was beautiful, the water clear, and the people so nice. We wheeled and dealed, Josh got a hair braid, and we rode in a glass bottom boat to get a view of the ocean life. Before we got back on board Josh decided he may need a little DayQuil that he saw at an American shop in the port. We bought it, boarded the boat, and were good to go. Next stop, the Caymen Islands.
As the day progressed in the Caymen's, so did Josh's sore throat. We went on a tour with a family from Honduras. Only the dad spoke English, so he translated the whole way. We told him we were honeymooning, he translated to his family and they all clapped and cheered for us. Then they gave us pears, and they each gave us a little marriage advice. We got to visit the town called Hell. It was mostly a tourist trap. When we walked in they greeted us with, "Hi. How the hell are you? What the hell are you looking for? Hurry up and get the hell out of here." After we left the town of Hell, we decided to spend the rest of the day on the beach. Apparently the rain had the same plan though so we gave up and retreated back to the boat. By this point, Josh was completely out of DayQuil and was really starting to feel bad.
We tried to start the next day off on a new foot. We were in Cozumel, and I was pumped because I was swimming with the dolphins. It was amazing and definitely one of the highlights of my trip. We also ate authentic mexican cuisine, shopped, and had fun with the locals. Once we got back to the boat we decided that we were ready for an elegant night at sea, so we cleaned up and got decked out to go to this amazing steakhouse that was on board. It was delicious, and a perfect end to our day!
All in all, the trip was amazing. Besides the first $60 I spent in the pharmacy, I went back and spent at least forty dollars more on cough syrups, cough drops, and the like. Apparently, I wasn't as good of a nurse as I had originally credited myself for. All sickness aside, we had the time of our lives. We went to shows, ate pizza at 2am, ordered room service, enjoyed our view from the balcony, had a couples massage, drank numerous tropical beverages in the hot tub, watched movies outside on the big screen under the stars, and just enjoyed each other's company.
Now we are back in the real world and are excited to start our life as a family. As we pulled onto our street earlier today on our way in from the cruise I told Josh I guessed the honeymoon was over. He assured me that it was just beginning and would never end. Words of comfort that I needed to hear although the piles of laundry we brought back with us begged to differ. We came in to a clean house compliments of great friends and family. Baker-Smith completely outdid herself and had our guestbook finished and waiting for us on the bed along with welcome home note. Josh and I are still searching for a way to repay her for everything that she went out of her way to do throughout the whole wedding process.
Tomorrow will be back to real life as I spent my first day post-honeymoon bringing my husband to the family doctor and then to the eye doctor (apparently you can't leave your contacts in a drinking glass soaking and expect them to still be there when you return...our fault and we do take that blame). So now it is Home Sweet Home and life as we know it begins.
Loved reading your blog, Cher. I'm so sorry Josh was sick. He's lucky that you took such good care of him.
ReplyDeleteAunt Lee Lee