Officially Mrs. Mister!

Before planning for Ghana, The Mister and I had been planning a Jamaican destination wedding to take place next year. Being from different cities, a destination wedding seemed like the neutral perfect opportunity to bring both of our families together. However, when we accepted our new positions overseas, we did so knowing that we’d be heading over as husband and wife. 

We didn’t quite know how we would work out getting married. At first, Jamaica was still on the table. We naively thought that maybe we could scale it down: we’d fly out with our parents for a private beach wedding. But logistics and, more importantly, finances quickly busted that bubble. Given the adventure we’re about to embark on, it would be insane financially irresponsible to spend that kind of money on anything but preparation for Ghana. 

We played around with a few more ideas, but they all pretty much ended in us coming to the same conclusion.  That’s when we decided on a courthouse wedding. The thing about a courthouse wedding is: it’s just business. All of the pomp and circumstance that goes into the planning and execution of a traditional wedding is (for all legal purposes) frivolous without the signing of the contract that makes man and woman husband and wife. So in deciding to wed at the courthouse The Mister and I had to ask ourselves, “What are we trying to accomplish?” and “What’s the most logical way of meeting our goal?” Staring an opportunity of a lifetime in the face, it became clear to us how unimportant the ceremonial aspect of being wed can be.

And so…. The deed is done! The Mister and I were married on November 1^st. We woke up, exchanged personal vows and rings to each other, and then went down to the courthouse to make it official legal. No hubbub or fanfare. My mother and sister were there to witness. And that was it.   

 Our rings!

Well, that was almost it. This past weekend my mother hosted a dinner party in our honor. It was a beautiful gathering with some of my dearest friends and family and there was even an African drummer! I guess “no fanfare” is like speaking Dutch to a mother-of-the-bride. :) But we definitely enjoyed ourselves and appreciated everyone coming out to share in our love for one another. 

Almost Mrs. Mister

So I’m still chipping away at my massive checklist. Over the past week, I was able to tackle some major tasks.

First up doctor visits—Yay! Not so much. Aside from my yearly physical my main purpose for visiting the doctor was to take advantage of this plush health insurance while I have it get the necessary vaccinations for my upcoming trip. Ouch! I’ve never been afraid of needles, but after the first shot, I found myself looking for the escape hatch. The nurse explained to me that it’s not the needle that hurts; it’s actually the depositing of the vaccine into the muscle tissue that’s painful. Tomato – Tomahto Ouch! I did score cool points for being a big girl about the Tetanus vaccine which is reportedly the one that people complain hurts the most. But whatever points I scored there were lost over the next few days, as I was such a wimp about my arms hurting. Seriously, I couldn’t even sleep comfortably (which only added to my extreme fatigue from being so busy). But I’m better now. :) 

Next up: Rings! In my last post I mentioned that The Mister and I would be inking the ring check box. Well, we did. Not much to report here except we were able to order our rings. Although we spent more than I had wanted to spend, (gold is through the roof!) I’m excited for and can’t wait to see how they turn out.

This past weekend was the second of our three-weekend, intensive ESL teacher training. I’m appreciative of the useful information that I’m acquiring, but man am I tired! I guess I never really realized how necessary the weekends are for recuperation. I mean, I just always looked forward to the weekend as free time to do what I want, rather than a time for physical and mental rest. I didn’t realize how much off my free time I actually spend resting. I’ve been going non-stop for the past two weeks—I’m drained! I can’t wait to have my weekends back.

What does the weekend mean to you? A time to kick it or a time to kick up your heels?

Oh! I almost forgot to mention: We got our marriage license today! Big step…even bigger headache! Dealing with government agencies is quite possibly one of my top five most hated things. They hire just enough idiots to keep things running. There are always more windows than workers. And I think it’s a rule that when one window opens, another one closes. Like I said, just enough to give the appearance of a moving line. Every now and then, you spot the one clerk, who seems competent enough to be the beaconing light at the end of the dreary tunnel. But what happens? Super Clerk is trapped handling the moronic patron who didn’t do any research and has a million and one questions.  So, now your line count is all thrown off. By your count, there are just enough people in front of you so that your spot should land you at Super Clerk’s window. But the Moronic Duo is taking so long that now the count is off. So you begin to panic. Now you want them to take longer so that they’ll finish just in time for you to be next with Super Clerk’s. But hey what’s this? The dimwitted security guard. Yes, the same guard that you showed your online confirmation number to upon your arrival. The online confirmation number that was supposed to speed up the process for you. Dimwit decides, now that you’re second in line, the line is too long and some sort of express line needs to be established. You have your confirmation number, so you can go straight to Super Clerk’s line. Sigh of relief. As they say, all’s well that ends well. The Mister and I can officially be married.

Next episode: the DMV…