Ode To Strangers

I love meeting new people.
Really, I do. I don't get to do much of that being cooped up in a small office everyday even if I love my job. All today and yesterday we had meeting after meeting and to one of them, a shareholder brought his girlfriend. As she couldn't go into the meeting but didn't want to wait in the hotel alone she stayed in the office with me and we chatted. Well between then and this afternoon, I think it's safe to say I've made a new friend.


Being my super-introverted self, sometimes I forget how great it is to meet new people and how fun it is. We talked about everything from what color my bridesmaids dresses would be to religion to her teenage daughter and even to President Obama and war in Iraq. It's not very often you met someone you are so different from but can communicate so well with.


When Kevin and I met we were little more than strangers. And I just smile when I remember what that strange IM became over time. It makes me truly appreciative of serendipity and chances and strangers when it occurs to me that's what we were. We were strangers that met under fairly common circumstances that likely could have ended in one awkward conversation and never gone further than that. But something pushed us to keep the conversation going. To learn more about each other. To truly know each other. That's what I want our marriage to be like.


Weddings and marriages are not the same thing. A wedding comes and goes and often is a once in a lifetime thing. A marriage is a lifelong commitment. Weddings are about telling the world "HEY - I love this (wo)man and I'm here making a public display of that". Marriages don't have to be so public. In fact, I think it's the private, intimate parts of a marriage that make it worth so much. When she packs his lunch for him even though she doesn't have to be up for work till 7. When he takes the laundry upstairs because he knows how heavy the hamper can be. When they simply TELL each other how much they care and love each other. That's the truly beautiful part. That's what I want. I don't just want a fancy party. I can't wait to look at the man I love and say "Yep, he's the one I married." and be totally and completely proud to share his name and be his wife. And you know what? I am still (and always will be) totally and completely proud of him and thrilled to be his girl.