Coupl-ed Up.

There comes a point in every relationship when we must make some decisions. Some make them sooner than others. Some choose different paths, and different sequences of events. But the truth of the matter is, a decision must be made. And failure to make a decision almost inevitably results in a break-up.


Case #1: The Beginning.


Two dear friends recently made a big decision to tie the knot. We are very excited for them! After over two years together, the couple realized that it was now or well, now. Sometimes you just know.


Case #2: The End.


Two other friends just recently had to make the decision of re-location. Living and working in separate cities for over a year, the couples’ ultimatum was finally given: move near me, or move on. Unfortunately, they both decided to move on. Living in limbo was just not doable any longer.


But then there is case #3: The In Between.


A dilemma I am currently facing with the man in my life. Leases are coming due, plans are being set, but furniture is still being moved into two separate apartments. We are not yet ready to make the big decision to live under the same roof, even though we are more in love than ever. I have to admit that I liked the idea very much, but after some thought I realized that sometimes it pays to wait. And until then, I’m quiet comfortable in between.
What relationship decisions have you made lately? Was it a beginning, an end, or an inbetween?
 
pic: weheartit

Season-ed with Love.

Weddings, weddings, everywhere!  The season is definitely in full swing and you can smell it in the air.  Between college friends and family, old friends and office acquaintances, lately it seems everyone is tying the knot and pledging their love to one another.  Perhaps I notice it a bit more than usual since I'm of the age where it's something I think about too, or perhaps I'm of the age where I know more people old enough to wed.  Either way, this wedding fever, though a bit exhausting (and draining on the wallet), is quite a delightful maladie.  After all, is there any better disease than lovesickness?

I'll be sharing some fun photos from the wedding we attended this past weekend.  Congrats, Val & Joe!

Sidenote:  Wouldn't it be just absolutely heart-wrenchingly perfect to be proposed to here?  Hint. Hint.

Grammy, belov-ed.

I’ll never forget the day I found my first best friend.  We were out for ice cream one sticky summer afternoon, and my heart was beating fast in anticipation as we waited in a line of screaming kids with sticky hands and mud-spattered clothes.  While in line, I squeezed my friend’s hand and smiled, exposing my missing front tooth.  Finally, we were next.  While I stood on my tiptoes to gaze at all the flavors, she ordered for us.

“I’d like strawberry in a cone,” she began, pausing to glance back at the flavors nailed to the wall of the little gray shack.  I didn’t hear her finish ordering because by that time, I had two scoops of ice cream in my hands, and nothing else mattered to me.  Hardly able to contain my excitement, I gave a hard lick and watched as a ball of pink tumbled to the dirt.  As the tears swelled, I clenched my fists to keep from wailing, but just then my grandmother held out her cone.

“Here, you can have mine,” she said softly.  I looked at her, amazed that she would give up two scoops of strawberry heaven and hesitantly grasped the wafer cone.

Giving up her ice cream cone was not my grandmother’s most honorable action.  Throughout my life she has been by my side, holding my hand, giving me strength, and teaching me lessons without intending to.  That day, she taught me the value of friendship, a lesson that I consider one of the most important in life.  Radiating with strength, elegance, and kindness, my grandmother has been a continuous inspiration, reminding me that life is all about little pleasures and good friends to enjoy them with along the way.

A few years ago, she asked that I try on her wedding dress.  I pulled the yellowed silk gown over my head, smoothing the torn lace while she and my mother snapped photos.  My grandmother has always wished to be at my wedding, but because she is now 92, and battling the late stages of severe Alzheimer's, I don't know if this dream is realistic.  However, whether or not she is sitting in the church, she will be with me—in a piece of yellowed lace sewn over my heart.