20 Years
In 1999, at 7:00, I woke up after a pretty restless night. I'd slept at my parents' house, and haven't done so since. It was already 80 degrees. By noon it would be 95, and it would be a solid 99 by 2. I made sure that the suitcase was packed in the trunk of my dad's car. I got a shower and got dressed. The clothes were a bit of a challenge, a little more formal that I'd ever had before. I shaved. I pulled my long hair back into as neat a ponytail as I could manage. I made sure I had everything, and I got out the door not later than 9.
Over the next 3 hours I had at the same time a lot to do, but nothing to do. I helped my father in law figure out his clothes. I helped my oldest friend, Paul, with his clothes. I reassured my father that just because two of my other friends, Andy and Stephen, were late, that didn't mean that they wouldn't be there. They must have a good reason. I tried to stay out of the way and to stay calm and remember my part. I triple checked the program that I'd spent a tense night editing in Photoshop because I didn't have the Word file, just a printed copy, to make sure everything was right. I thanked my Aunt Ann for being a part of everything. And at noon, I walked down the aisle.
I don't remember much of the ceremony, honestly. I remember Ann standing at the lectern, reading Paul to the Corinthians. I remember my uncle Tom, who baptized me, standing in front of us and relieving tension with some jokes. Mostly, I remember looking at Amy. And then I remember getting our pictures taken. Similarly, I only remember pieces of the reception. I remember my cousin Nate, who was 5 or 6 at the time, unzipping my sister's dress (not to the point of indecency, but to the point of him getting dropped on the floor so she could fix it). I remember my brother's toast. I remember Amy wanting a rebuttal to the toast. I remember my groom's cake. I remember being in a morning coat with tails in a room full of people with a fireplace going when it was 99 degrees outside. I remember everyone having fun.
Amy and I have been married now for 20 years. I have lost track of Paul. Andy and Stephen live out of town or out of State. Jason still makes a good speech and Amy still wants a rebuttal for that toast. I've stopped fighting against the idea that I would be a computer programmer and have accepted that reality. Ann, who cosigned the loan for the ring and who read at our wedding was taken by cancer. We've lost all three of the cats that we had within the first 4 years of marriage. And for the last 5 and a half, we've gone from a duet to a trio with the addition of Teddy. And I've been blessed and happy and stupidly lucky every day of it, even the bad ones, because she was with me.
Over the next 3 hours I had at the same time a lot to do, but nothing to do. I helped my father in law figure out his clothes. I helped my oldest friend, Paul, with his clothes. I reassured my father that just because two of my other friends, Andy and Stephen, were late, that didn't mean that they wouldn't be there. They must have a good reason. I tried to stay out of the way and to stay calm and remember my part. I triple checked the program that I'd spent a tense night editing in Photoshop because I didn't have the Word file, just a printed copy, to make sure everything was right. I thanked my Aunt Ann for being a part of everything. And at noon, I walked down the aisle.
I don't remember much of the ceremony, honestly. I remember Ann standing at the lectern, reading Paul to the Corinthians. I remember my uncle Tom, who baptized me, standing in front of us and relieving tension with some jokes. Mostly, I remember looking at Amy. And then I remember getting our pictures taken. Similarly, I only remember pieces of the reception. I remember my cousin Nate, who was 5 or 6 at the time, unzipping my sister's dress (not to the point of indecency, but to the point of him getting dropped on the floor so she could fix it). I remember my brother's toast. I remember Amy wanting a rebuttal to the toast. I remember my groom's cake. I remember being in a morning coat with tails in a room full of people with a fireplace going when it was 99 degrees outside. I remember everyone having fun.
Amy and I have been married now for 20 years. I have lost track of Paul. Andy and Stephen live out of town or out of State. Jason still makes a good speech and Amy still wants a rebuttal for that toast. I've stopped fighting against the idea that I would be a computer programmer and have accepted that reality. Ann, who cosigned the loan for the ring and who read at our wedding was taken by cancer. We've lost all three of the cats that we had within the first 4 years of marriage. And for the last 5 and a half, we've gone from a duet to a trio with the addition of Teddy. And I've been blessed and happy and stupidly lucky every day of it, even the bad ones, because she was with me.
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