Well, we did it! We are officially married, and it feels awesome. I didn't think that it would actually feel different, but it does.
Immediately after our wedding, my dad picked us up at 6am the next day and we headed off to our honeymoon. We stayed at Cheeca Lodge and Spa in Islamorada, FL. It was absolutely beautiful, with lots of vegetation. We were only there for four days, but it was so nice to finally celebrate together. The first night we stayed at the lodge and split a pizza and some drinks. We loved seeing everyone at the wedding, but were ready to just decompress and have some alone time with little interaction with other human beings.
The next night we went to Chef Michael's. Let me tell you, the food was out of this world. I have never been so satisfied with a meal. When we got to Chef Michael's the bartender came up and said congratulations and brought us a bottle of champaign. John had called ahead to order the champaign to surprise me. I felt so special.
The final night we went to Ma's for some fish tacos and fish and chips. After dinner, we got dessert to go so we could walk across to the Gulf of Mexico side to watch the sunset.
Now we are back to good ole Eastern North Carolina, and starting to establish routines again. This is when it felt real that we were married. I finally realized that my classroom work for my Master's was over. I left my friends that I had made at ECU. I realized I won't be packing up my things to head back to Greenville on Sunday evening. I realized this is the beginning of the next chapter in my life.
I get a little sad at each moment in my life when I have a huge life change. I am sad to leave the past life behind. Whenever change happens I worry that I won't take the lessons I learned with me, or the memories with me. However, if history repeats itself (which it always does), then I will be a better person because of the lessons and the memories. I will always have the memories, and I will always have the messages behind the lessons.
I also get anxious to see what the future holds after a huge life change. I want to know now what I am going to have to face, and what I will learn at the next step. I don't really like surprises, and I like to plan for what is ahead. Again, if history repeats itself (which it does), then I will faces those obstacles, surprises, and joys. This time, however, I will faces those obstacles with one more person in my life, John. He keeps me grounded, calms me down when I start to get anxious, and he makes me see the forest instead of the trees.
I believe with John by my side as well as my friends I have made along the way, and my family, I will be able to meet this change, learn new things, and make memories along the way.
