In the darkest dark of February...

When the snow has us buried to our eyeballs, the sun's MIA file is covered in dust, and our last babysitter is a fond faraway memory, being "wife" can be easily forgotten. I'm on-call mom 24/7, with no daycare to fall back on. I'm on-call milk machine 24/7, with nary a bottle to fall back on. I'm the 24/7 cook, maid, chauffeur, doctor, nurse, playmate, story teller, audience, decorator...pretty much everything. Add into this mix the extra demands of dealing with all house buying and moving related faxes, phone calls, emails and decisions, all surgery related faxes, phone calls, emails and decisions, and I am t.i.r.e.d. With a Capital T. What I needed tonight was some inspiration. Some major inspiration. And wouldn't you know it, I found it. Somehow I stumbled across the written copy of my marriage ceremony, filed and forgotten. The part that I really needed to read tonight was our "community giveaway", and went like this:

Community Give Away

To last, a marriage should be a consecration of each person to the other, and to the wider community of which they are a part. Because red and Dude feel a great closeness and respect for all of you here, they chose each of you to witness their vows today. Marriage is an intensely personal act, but, in order for the couple's marriage to gain strength to last throughout the years, their union must be supported by their greater society of family and friends.

I invite you all to share in this moment by expressing your love, hope and joy for this occasion. If you are able, please stand now.

We are all here out of a love for red and dude and a support of this marriage. Please join in an affirmation of your wishes for them by saying "We do" to this question:

Do you promise to support red and dude with your love, uphold them with your wisdom and, through the days and years that lie ahead, sustain them in the vows they make today?

"We do!"

Thank you all. Please take your seats again


Tonight, I needed to be reminded that while I may feel that the responsibility of the world, and my family, rests heavily on my shoulders, there were many people out there who would gladly ease some of my burdens. The simple knowledge that you are loved and supported goes a long way, especially on this dark and snowy February night, as far from my beautiful June wedding as I could imagine.


Here's to hoping that on this dark and snowy february night, you have the same sense of community and support that I was able to rediscover.


yeah, we were babies.