Life is a rush for me nowadays. I feel rushed to get a lot accomplished in an effort to ultimately slow down. I am seeking out a more placid lifestyle but it just ain't happening-yet.
One of the bummer annoyances is that I had to get a new engagement/wedding ring set.
While visiting my sister in Colorado, she noticed that there were tiny diamonds missing from the ring. When we got home I studied it with my reading glasses on and sure enough, three tiny diamonds were gone. I dreaded sending the ring back to the JC Penney warranty jeweler in Dallas, Texas for a minimum of three freakin' weeks. Ridiculous! I took the ring to a local jeweler whom I know and trust(the family is from Minnesota and the son-in-law is from Sioux Falls). By then, I was missing FOUR diamonds and more were in peril of coming out.
Screw it. The bad design and poor workmanship were never going to be made perfect so I returned the ring and got my money back. I found an estate diamond in the case at the local jeweler and we ordered the settings for the new wedding and engagement ring set. The result is a one of a kind set that I love and it means more to me because Z was with me when I picked it all out. It came out much nicer for the money than the first one to boot!
JZ and I have developed a pattern of activities and generally go hiking together on Sundays. We decided to take a challenging hike in our own Peoria city preserve just three miles from our house. The trail was indeed an up and down challenge. For once, I was following instead of in the lead of JZ on the way down to the end but I fell in slow motion when I started to get careless with my steps. Down I went on my hands and one knee. The left hand had a nasty gash and some rocks embedded in it as did my left knee. After three weeks, the hand is still healing with some delays due to my workouts which put pressure on it when I do yoga and pushups. I am going to buy gloves for my hands since we are pretty cemented in doing hikes together and sometimes with friends at least once a week.
The other demand on my time is the planning of our reception party which is just as detailed as planning a wedding. I am so glad that we split these two events up the way we did! The more time one has to plan, the more expensive it seems to get. I keep finding things to add for accessories and food ideas that were never a part of the original intent.
JZ's and my life became more complicated when he finally listed his home for sale and two buyers appeared after just one day. Its been a lot of running back to the old house to get things that his kids want to keep and making counter offers to the people who want to buy the contents of the home. A nice problem to have, you say. Still, its a hassle I will be glad to be done with when that home is out of the picture.
JZ has made headway on getting his workshop moved into the new space in our garage. He is meticulously planning and arranging his tools in the new alcove and on the walls of new pegboard he installed over the new electrical outlets he wired in. I am so gratified to see some of Gary's tools being used by my new husband in such a careful way. JZ really is a treasure in the way that he appreciates valuable items. He now also has to painstakingly pick through boxes of pictures and 'stuff' to sort and pack away to haul up to his son and daughter in the van. That will probably not happen until we return from our October honeymoon though.
And then there is the monumental task of taking on a new identity of Mrs Z and changing from Marsha Hopper with all the garbage of faxing and mailing and attaching proof of marriage. That's mixed in with changes to passport waiting at DMV and Social Security for the meetings required to finally become an Arizona resident and a new name to go with it. Insurances change, bank accounts, wills, trusts- the list is still long of people to notify of my new status. Plus, its not cheap. There is a cost to everything. Even Robbie has to change his residence to Maricopa County and to his new owner's name.
The reward for all this is realizing that every day forward I get to live a great life with a sweet man who loves me more now than when we were married a few weeks ago. If anything, I feel I am more in love as time goes by. I am 'getting' his humor and he is understanding of my jabs(all in jest) at him. We spend our days doing what we must, while also doing what we want to do with our time. We have FUN doing simple things like going out to second run movies, going on date nights, going out for breakfast and often just lying around. We exercise together three times a week and still attend the meetup trivia singles group where we met each other. Afterwards we go with several of the group members to Yogurtini- the best yogurt shop in the world! Watching movies and recorded programs from Tivo is part of our routine. We play games on our phones and entertain on game nights with neighbors and friends. Its a great life, and a life I could never have imagined a year ago.
My next task to tie up a loose end is to finally get Gary's ashes to the place they belong: in the Pacific Ocean. This will be my sad/sweet duty this coming week as we travel to the coast for a couple of days. Its been a long time coming. While there I want to get together with old friends over there. I look forward to proudly showing off to them, my good friend and husband.
One of the most important things for me is that, no matter what we are doing or where we are, JZ and I take time to talk and listen to each other's dreams. The places we want to go, the things we want to see. It all takes time, and we need to grab all we can while the grabbing is good.
