First Day of Summer

I am officially embarrassed. I was such a dutiful blogger when I was planning our wedding. Now that it's over, I've pretty much abandoned my poor blog. In an effort to breath a little life into it, I decided to change the layout and brighten it up a bit. Perhaps that will motivate me to keep it up.

Believe it or not, I did write something for our one month anniversary, I just failed to publish it for some reason. It was about lessons I've learned during my first month of marriage. I can't believe almost closing out month number two. Below is what they were and they all still apply to this day.

Lesson 1: It's Okay to Be Ambitious, Until Reality Sets In

The Monday after we returned from Jamaica, I took the day off to take care of changing my name and other business. With all my new cookbooks, utensils and other goodies, I decided it was a good idea to plan our meals for the week. I began writing everything down, going to the store to get exactly what I needed instead of what we thought tasted good at the moment and even kept a little calendar on the fridge so my other half would know what was on the menu for that night. I was a newlywed warrior--coming home from work and heading straight to the kitchen. While dinner was cooking, I'd do other things around the house like straighten up, catch up on laundry or work on thank you notes. That lasted about two weeks. Lately, I've been slacking. The first night I didn't have a meal prepared, Derrick was shocked and appalled. Reality had set in. The luster of being a new wife was starting to wear off and wear me out. I still do most of the cooking, but unfortunately, I can't keep up with the hectic meal planning at this time. Maybe I'll get back into it once we get more settled in.

Lesson 2: The Name Change Game--Cute at First, but a Pain in the Rear End

So that Monday I took off work to get my name changed turned into quite a stressful one. Before I could do anything, I had to visit the Social Security office. It was pouring rain and as it turned out, the office's computers were down so they couldn't process anything. I filled out some paperwork and thought it might be nice to make my maiden name my middle name. No can do in Kansas. Apparently, I'd have to go through a big to do legal name change that would probably cost a lot of time and a lot of money. You may wonder why I would like to keep my maiden name somewhere and somehow. Well, I'm an only child and my parents didn't have a son to carry on the name. So here I am. I've had my maiden name for 30 years. I've grown accustomed to it. It fits me and I wanted to keep it in some way or another.

Despite everything, I am starting to get used to my new name. I had to change it at the bank and and at work, both of which was quite the process. Sometimes I forget to sign with my married name. I get confused. Maybe in a year everything will be squared away. Until then, I guess I'll have a double identity.

Lesson 3: Face It, He's Never Worn a Ring Before so it Takes Some Getting Used To

I've had to get used to the fact that my husband is not used to wearing a ring. He is always playing with it, complaining that it's loose or tapping it on the table. It irks me, but I understand. He's got this new thing practically attached to him. I've had a year and half to get used to wearing my ring. He's had a month (now almost two). He's a guy. I know it will take some time. We will have to work on him not leaving it on the kitchen counter where it could just roll off into the garbage disposal never to be seen again.

Lesson 4: Moms are Great Before the Wedding. They are Even Better After the Wedding

What a difference a wedding makes. My mom and I butted heads so many times planning the wedding. She wanted one thing and I wanted another. We had some pretty rough moments. But the day of the wedding and ever since then my mom has been great. She's cheerful, doesn't seem as stressed and just pleasant to be around. Not that she wasn't pleasant before. She was just under a lot of pressure I suppose. She had a daughter who really wasn't all that into wedding planning. I mean, what mom wants a daughter like that? But I have a feeling that our relationship will continue to get stronger as the weeks go by. I'm especially looking forward to espresso the first Saturday of every month.

Lesson 5: Married Life is a Blast

I know marriage is hard work. I can't say the past month has been all sunshine and lollipops, but it has been fun. It's surreal to call each other husband and wife. When we walk down the street or in a store, I know he's not my boyfriend or my fiancé, but he's my husband. The other day he said he loved hanging out with his best friend in the whole world--me.

We've had our moments during our first month of marriage, but I would do it all over again if it meant I still got to spend the rest of my life with him. He's an amazing person, a great friend and the best husband in the world. I can't wait for this next month of marriage and all the months to come.