The Paper Anniversary

This weekend, Dryw and I are celebrating our first anniversary of marriage. Just one year ago, we were frantically finishing the details of our wedding and waiting for escrow to close on our condo. My bridesmaids and I picked up our keys after the rehearsal dinner, the night before the wedding. Not everything went as planned or as we had hoped, but I think we really did enjoy our wedding day and tried to take in the beauty of each moment. Within moments of the ceremony’s closing, I could see how exhausted Dryw felt and I soon felt the same. He whisked me away to a B & B in Lotus for two nights then we retreated to his grandmother’s cabin in South Lake Tahoe. Ahh, finally. We could just be together without “to do” lists or distractions. It was so wonderful to no longer have to say “goodnight” and part ways. There would be no more goodbyes like the painful one we experienced as I left for Bolivia a year earlier. We were so blessed to spend 10 days and nights exploring the lake and its culinary offerings. We cruised the lake during sunset, sunbathed at Sand Harbor, feasted at Stateline and Fresh Ketch, watched scary movies in the forest-surrounded cabin, and enjoyed Squaw Valley’s mountain-top spa.

By the end of our time at the lake, we were ready to head home and start nesting. We came home to a pile of generous gifts from friends and family and a clean slate to make our own. Dryw and I spent the next few days moving boxes, shopping for household items, completing my name change and unpacking. It really felt like home as we put everything in place and settled in. Dryw would say that the nesting never stops, as I keep roping him into painting projects and home improvement tasks. I can’t deny that he’s right on that one.

One year: the paper anniversary. There are many uses for paper, especially for creative minds and hands, and one of the best uses must be writing, journaling, and reflecting. Our first year has been full of great memories as we took advantage of free weekends and birthday surprises. We were told by many that this year would be one of the hardest. I asked Dryw what his thoughts were on that statement just the other day. It seems that we both agree that was not our experience. We mainly attribute that to the grace of God and our situation, in which we have not spent years of independence becoming set in our ways. We have always lived with others, sharing homes and rooms for the most part. It is actually quite gracious of Dryw to say that WE are not set in our ways. We may not be, but I definitely can be. I know that I can be very particular about how our things are organized and how our home is kept. Despite my occasional outbursts of obsessive compulsive frustration, this year has seen few sad tears and arguments. We could stand to improve our communication and are cognisant that our logic and assumptions don’t always match up. I desire to learn better how to speak in Dryw’s love language and hope that he aspires to do the same for me. As this first year together comes to a close and our second begins, I am confident that God is faithful and thus will mold me into a better, more loving wife. I know that God is good because he gave me Dryw, whom I do not deserve, and he is a gift that I will learn to steward better with each year God gives us.

So, I toast to my love, mi vida, my best friend and lifelong trailblazing partner. I cannot wait to see the places we’ll go together. I love you!