To my husband, Ryan. You have made me stronger, and I hope I have made you whole.
I love you. Always.
Your wife,
Dani
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In their footsteps...
I recently returned from Hawaii. It was a much needed vacation filled with lots of sun, laughter (think loosing gas during a sunset ice storm on top of a remote crater, Halekala, and waiting hours for rescue in the form of gas!) and I suppose love. I went to Maui with my new(ish) boyfriend Ryan. I didn't blog much about him in hopes of keeping my relationships free of the spotlight, after all this blog is actually about me, and sometimes I found my relationship were defining me instead. However, for the past few months, I have been dating a surgical resident named Ryan. The instant challenge, laughter, witty repartee, and friendship reminded me of the relationship of my grandparents, Baba and Pa. My grandmother was my grandfather's nurse and while Ryan has never been my physician, I do enjoy the benefits of the vast knowledge he has...something sorta sexy (although we cannot tell him, I refuse to give the upper hand!). My Baba And Pa briefly dated and married within three days of getting engaged. I always thought that while it was romantic, it was rash...impulsive...unnecessary...and always wondered how on earth it lasted. Almost 50 years until death. But something happened to me when I found myself on my first vacation with my boyfriend...I realized that sometimes the greatest things in life are those that are unplanned. This is hard to swallow, given the fact I am an over-planner. I over prepare, analyze and stress. Carefree nature skipped me and went to my brother.
So what did I do when I realized I had spent 26 years of my life living according to what should be done, rather than what I wanted to do? Somewhere on the island where I was brought only 14 years before by my Baba and Pa, I took a page out of other book, and took a massively leap of unplanned faith. I married Ryan. Yes, I married him. There are two pictures, I wore my flip flops that survived my college and grad school years,along with the trip across the pond. I wore a green dress that was a bit too big. I wore almost no makeup. I put my hair up myself. And we didn't exchange rings. We also had no witnesses, sans the officiant. It was the antithesis of me. But it should be, as I clearly got it wrong the first time. And this time, I had better guidance...as I followed in my grandparents footsteps.
It may not have been SFCH, and I may not have been wearing a navy blue suit...but I was every inch my grandmother. And Ryan was better than any man I could imagine, and he would have made my grandfather proud.
Life has taught me many things, above all which is to have faith. I am asking for faith from those around me...not faith in love, or God, or fate. Faith in my judgement. It has served me well for 26 years. It shall continue to serve me well for the next 50.
So what did I do when I realized I had spent 26 years of my life living according to what should be done, rather than what I wanted to do? Somewhere on the island where I was brought only 14 years before by my Baba and Pa, I took a page out of other book, and took a massively leap of unplanned faith. I married Ryan. Yes, I married him. There are two pictures, I wore my flip flops that survived my college and grad school years,along with the trip across the pond. I wore a green dress that was a bit too big. I wore almost no makeup. I put my hair up myself. And we didn't exchange rings. We also had no witnesses, sans the officiant. It was the antithesis of me. But it should be, as I clearly got it wrong the first time. And this time, I had better guidance...as I followed in my grandparents footsteps.
It may not have been SFCH, and I may not have been wearing a navy blue suit...but I was every inch my grandmother. And Ryan was better than any man I could imagine, and he would have made my grandfather proud.
Life has taught me many things, above all which is to have faith. I am asking for faith from those around me...not faith in love, or God, or fate. Faith in my judgement. It has served me well for 26 years. It shall continue to serve me well for the next 50.
