Today Stephan and I have been married for twelve years. TWELVE, man—that’s a long time! So long, in fact, that there was no digital camera involved in the taking of our wedding photos, and so the only record of this wonderful event has, until now, been in an album.
In honor of this momentous occasion, I actually took the time to scan about 40 of these photos, and you can see them right here, mostly because Typepad (the technological platform that this blog is stuck on because it's been here for so long) won't allow me to upload photos on here for some reason today. Well done, Typepad! Way to go– your paid technology lags behind WordPress' open-source innovations by light years and is now preventing me from showing my friends and family a picture of my wedding ON MY ANNIVERSARY. Super. Yeah, do that. You're so right. This is exactly why blogs were invented. <seethe>
Whew– I am going to let go of that little technological tangent for now. I'm sure you've been over to the album and looked at the pictures, and you're not bothered at all by the fact that Typepad sucks so much and that I have tried every workaround in the book (including a few really clever ones if I do say so myself) to no avail. Back to the wedding, and the anniversary. If you were there, I think you will agree that it was a totally fun day. If you weren’t (because we were out of touch or because we didn’t know you then), basically our wedding was like an all-day music and food party with an open mic and a lot of funny. How could it be any other way?
Here’s the thing I have been reflecting on over the past week, in light of this milestone and several other conversations and circumstances and life events: love is important, and it is worth working for. And by working, I mean working on yourself so that you are able to give love to people in your life, and to accept it. In case you didn’t get a chance to read the essay I wrote for Diana Dang’s blog anniversary a week or so ago (which was about looking back on your high school years), here is the paragraph that is also applicable here:
Love is important. Relationships are important. Don’t take people for granted. If you have regrets later in life, they will be based not on material things you did or didn’t do/ get/ achieve, but on time—time with people, with loved ones, with friends. That is the one thing you never get back. Take the time. Do nice things for people when you think about it. Try not to let those moments pass by unnoticed.
Back when Stephan and I first met, I think I was a little bit of an emotional “fixer upper,” so to speak, or maybe we could say that I needed years of seasoning to become the fine wine of a person that I am today. So—I will take my own advice and take this moment to stop for a second and say thanks, everyone. Thanks to my friends and family who are always there for me, thanks to the people I don’t even know who read my books and this blog and contact me to tell me they like my writing, and thanks to my amazing husband Stephan Cox, who makes me laugh every day. Let’s all go have a cupcake, shall we? We deserve it.
Also, if you are considering starting a blog, might I suggest that you build it using WordPress and not Typepad?