Max & Becky Blalock

Here's the first of many to come!!! I only got a few digital pics back already, and wanted to post one for y'all to see!

Thanks to all who came, and for all the love & support along the way.

We're North Carolina bound for the week -

more pics to come!

3 days... 3 days...

I'm not nervous.

People keep asking me (among other questions, which I may blog about later)... if I'm nervous. Am I supposed to be? What am I supposed to be nervous about? That something will go wrong? Beyond someone dying or getting into a car accident or something else life-tragic, anything that goes wrong is fix-able. Or inconsequential.

After living through the year that I've just come through, I'm not nervous about this wedding.

I'm not nervous about marrying Max. I know him, and he knows me. Being together these three weeks only (the longest span of time during which we've seen each other daily in 3 years!) confirmed (not that it was needed) that we are making the right decision. That we truly are good for each other. That we make each other better, and demonstrate graace with each other when it is needed.

I'm not nervous. I can't wait for it to get here. I find myself getting upset when friends tell me that they aren't able to come for any variety of reasons. I want EVERYONE we know & love to share this day with us. This day - this day that no one thought would get here. This day - when Max & I are joined as husband and wife. This day - when we celebrate our heritage, our families, our friends with each other. This day - when we start our lives together - fundamentally being the same, yet being fundamentally different.

I keep trying my wedding ring on. First of all, because I love it! Second, because I keep expecting to FEEL different when I see my hand with it on. Unlike most brides, I have not spent my engagement with an engagement ring. So this ring that I have placed on my finger on Saturday afternoon will be the first and only sign of commitment to Max. The thing is - I don't feel different when I try it on. It's shockingly natural to see my left ring finger with a silver band on it. Making this commitment is natural. (NOTE - I did not say easy. None of this is easy. But, despite the adjustments of fusing a life with someone else, neither Max nor I have doubted our decision.)

We've been writing our own ceremony, and my indicator of what reading/saying I like is simply this: I wait 'til I cry when I read it. If I don't get choked up at least once, it isn't right. Even tonight, Max suggested something. Without a second passing, I got choked up & tears started forming. I simply nodded to him & said - yes. Of course we should do that - it makes me cry. He laughed the other night at such an event & said: "You're going to be a puddle, aren't you?" Holly & Julie - be prepared with kleenex. Maybe I'll hide some at the altar, just to be safe.

'that's enough rambling for now... I got another idea of something else to do! See you Saturday, I hope!

9 days... is anyone else counting?

A few months ago, a friends' friend in blogdom was getting married. Being of the same reality, I checked her blog regularly, just to see what I should be prepared for in the coming days. I found myself frustrated by her lack of blogging. didn't she know how much i was relying on her help? OH WAIT. I am an anonymous reader. She DIDN'T know.

I, this bride-to-be, have recently been chastised for my lack of blogging of late. As if quitting a job & trying to find a new one so i can pay for said weddng, moving, and planning a wedding weren't enough for some folks.

Along with this chastisement came an admonishment to return to the blogosphere, as I've heard it called. Lest I ramble, let me give a quick update on life in the Trask-Blalock household.

* All 4 cats are actually getting along - - for the most part. the occassional growl is still heard. The claws come out as needed. (As I'm typing this, I had to go break up a hissing match between Shadow (mine) and Buddy (Max's).

*Boxes are still unpacked. Boxes are still (and will remain) in storage until we move - which is dependent on where I get a job.

*Wedding plans are falling into place. If only I could find someone to write the thank you's for me, I'd be set! (Just kidding - I am very appreciative of all that we've been given.)

After spending almost 2 whole weeks together thus far, Max & I are still getting along! It's the longest time during which we've been together every day in 3 years - since he left Kentucky. (Not counting the whole post-katrina living situation. Those were dire circumstances.) My sister & her husband lived together for a year before they got married. I asked them a year later (post-wedding) if their relationship had changed once they got married, expecting a "no, we were together for so long... blah, blah, blah"... imagine my shock when hearing them both say "yes." I thought of this story a couple days ago when I found my self NOT freaking out about something that previously bothered me at max's house. (now my house!) knowing that i'm here (and that he's here) for the duration makes things different. the little things can't be so annoying, cause otherwise i'd be pissed off all the time. and they really didn't matter that much to begin with, after all.

Yesterday morning, amidst all of our running around, Max & I were talking, and he said something to the effect of "You're going to be a wife." and, of course, in return, I said " you're going to be a husband." ... it's amazing how much weight those simple words have. "Getting married" "Bride" "Groom" don't have as much baggage as "husband" "wife" - - to the point that i heard recently of a couple who referred to each other as "bride/groom" because they didn't want to associate themselves or each other with the baggage that comes with "husband/wife." I think labels/titles are really important, and can affect how we function.

I kinda like the labels/titles/nicknames that mak & I have for each other. (sorry for the high self-disclosure, honey)

"Love." "Beautiful."

Getting married is hard work, and it has nothing to do with planning the events associated with it. But, I'm also learning, it's the most wonderful process in the world.