Once again, I found myself packing up my bedroom and saying goodbye to some of my familiar, treasured belongings. This time, though, the finality hit me: I would never really have my own space again. Even now, little reminders of the man I had just joined my life to lay scattered around- a wedding tie here, a photograph there- signs of the merger that is marriage.
Jason and I enjoyed a fun, relaxing honeymoon.
When we got back, we had a home to put together. It seemed like the whole family pitched in to help us get settled. Candice went to the DI and basically wiped them out of home furnishings and appliances. She bought furniture, lamps, dishes, utensils... every needful thing. It was astonishing to come home and find that we had all our necessities right there waiting for us, and I have always loved her for it.
Marn spent all day organizing our kitchen cupboards, Rob set up an air conditioner in the window, and Dad built our vacuum, clock, etc... My crockpot dinner was a little lumpy last night. I hope my cooking improves.
My cooking was, quite frankly, dismal. Jason put on a brave face, but I just didn't have the skill set.
I love that I kept our first shopping list, and I misspelled cheese... twice!
We got a good night's sleep, and I woke up STARVING, so I made us breakfast. We had bacon and eggs, sparkling grape juice in glass goblets, and wedding cake- all in bed. A very newlywed meal.
I kept working on the cooking thing. I asked for advice from Jason's older sisters and they very kindly gifted me some of their favorite recipes.
I love being a wife. It is so comfortable for me. I'm not much of a cook, though. Especially with rice. I simply do not understand rice. So far I can cook: Swiss Steak, Italian Chicken, Chinese Chicken, Ham Fried Rice, Chicken Parmesan, Spaghetti, and Chicken Enchiladas.
Notice I did not say I could cook those dishes well...
Setting up house was so much fun. We had been insanely spoiled with wedding gifts.
Nevertheless, the reality of budgeting for two hit us as it always does when a new couple suddenly has to pay all the bills. I tried to dress up the finance log. You know, make it a little more snazzy and fun.
It didn't work. Paying bills just isn't fun when you don't have anything left over. I remember having to borrow $60 from my sister one month so we could pay our utilities. It was humbling, but we were doing the best we could. Our weekly grocery budget was $40.
I adored our first apartment. It was so cozy!
Every Sunday, Jason and I would leave our house at the same time to drive to our church services. One Sunday, I was sick so I stayed home. In those days, our church lasted three hours, so I was a little surprised to hear Jason come home after the first hour. He entered through the kitchen and paused in the living room. I called out to him from the bedroom where I was resting. To my amazement, I heard his footsteps run back through the kitchen and out the door. He didn't come back for another 30 minutes. I was SO perplexed by his behavior and I asked him about it. "I didn't come home earlier," he said slowly. "This is the first time I've been back." We stared at each other as the realization dawned that the person (a man, judging by the heavy footfalls) had been a STRANGER walking around our apartment-- with me INSIDE!!
Jason and I were so lucky to have wonderful friends coming and going all the time. Sometimes it was a little hard to get them to leave! I remember one evening, a delightful couple came over for dinner (which I'm sure they regretted) and then they just sort of... stayed. It got later and later. My eyes were drooping and I was yawning incessantly, but they just grew roots into our couch and kept talking. Midnight came and went. 1:00. 1:30. I got desperate and excused myself. When I came back into the living room I had replaced my contacts with glasses and was wearing my pajamas. That sweet couple just kept right on talking until at least 2 in the morning before they finally stretched and yawned and said, "Oh, look at the time! Better be getting home." It reminds me of something my grandpa used to say in similar situations: "Well, I better get to bed so you can go home." To this day, I don't have a comfortable line for kicking guests out when they've overstayed their welcome. I just suffer through it and curse them later. :) The price we paid in lost sleep was worth having such charming friends, though. They were all really fun.
It was nice when everyone was good and married and we could all just relax into adulthood.
Not that we behaved much like adults most of the time... we just basically partied non-stop for the next few years.
One unexpected thing that we did before having kids was modeling. Our brother-in-law was taking photos of iPhone products for a while, and Jason and I often got to model for him. It is such a funny, odd part of our history as a couple.
How did you spend your newlywed years? Comment below! WBS- Jess
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