Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Hawaii to Tennessee




Getting back into the routine of life after a wedding and eight days of relaxing and escaping on the beautiful beaches of Hawaii has proven to be a bit challenging. However, we managed to somewhat ease into it due to a little thing called tonsillitis. While we were taking an eight-hour flight back to the states from Honolulu, an adorable dark skinned boy somewhere between the ages of 4 and 5 with an endearing smile sitting straight across the aisle from us began to produce an unsettling cough. Not the kind of polite muffled cough you hear on Sunday mornings resulting from an overabundance of perfumes filling the air. This kid was churning up something inside his chest that was ghastly. This cough reminded me of when I was a kid and Dad would pull the cord on the push mower. You’d hear grinding medal on medal, pistons choking, gas gurgling, the engine wanting to fire but not being able to catch. This poor kid no matter how hard he tried could not get out the foreign matter filling his respiratory system, yet you could feel him emitting the plague throughout the cabin with each rattling expulsion. Lena awoke to the sound and I believe her first words were, “Yep… I’m gonna be sick.” Sure enough within 24 hours, her throat got scratchy and her tonsils turned a color reminiscent of a fire truck.



After being diagnosed with tonsillitis, she was encouraged to take Monday and Tuesday off from work, which is perfect for me, because being a worship leader, Monday and Tuesday are sort of like my weekend. It was great getting to spend two days slowly adjusting to normal life with her by my side.

Since the wedding, I’ve gotten several emails. Apparently word got out about a certain rehearsal dinner video of Lena and I that magnifies the more embarrassing moments of our lives. For those of you who have inquired, I’ll try to get that up on the blog soon, as well as some pictures from the wedding. It was an amazing day getting to share such a momentous occasion with friends and family. Thank you so much for all your words of encouragement and congratulations.
Much Love,
Jason

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

SHOWERS

October 3, 2007

As the wedding approaches, Lena and I have been in a constant state of preparedness. The process of completing a pre-wedding to-do list has been a much more daunting task than I first imagined, arranging meetings with bakers, florists, musicians, clergy, counselors, wedding planners, event coordinators, photographers, videographers and the list goes on. There are hotel rooms to be blocked off, tuxes to be reserved, limos to be rented, directions to be printed, and invitations to be sent. In a word, it’s madness. However, through it all one thing prevails. When the checklist has been completed and the day arrives, it will be an amazing occasion to watch my bride come through the doors with her father at her side, surrounded by family and friends, and together turn the page to a new chapter in our lives.

Through all the hustle of organizing for the big day, there have been moments of fun. Such moments consist of getting together with friends and opening gifts. I guess being a guy, you’re never exposed to the phenomenon known as “The Shower.” I can vividly remember being five or six years old and on occasion hearing Mom say she was headed to a shower. She always had shiny packages wrapped in ribbons and bows when she went on these outings but my infantile mind could never quite make the connection between gifts and personal daily hygiene. Well, after the past three months, I now understand quite well what a shower is. As I sit and write, my peripheral vision spies a living room littered with boxes and tissue paper encasing bath towels, dishes, toasters, and the occasional oddity like an egg yolk separator or a popsicle stick picture frame, of which all we are genuinely grateful for.

Lena has attended many showers. I have fortunately only attended one. I’ve come to find the “Wedding Shower” environment is no place for a man. In fact, I owe a big thanks to my good friend Cody Deese for granting me a reasonable excuse to forgo the last shower. He somehow managed to score 40 yard line tickets to the Florida/Tennessee game in Gainesville. Can I just pause and say the Gators looked FLAWLESS!!

All in all, getting to the wedding has been a long endeavor but fun nonetheless. I guess it helps when you have a breathtaking bride, a supporting family, and encouraging friends. Just one piece of advise though… ELOPE!!!
No, I’m kidding, but really…
Much Love,
Jason