I have been to a lot of baby showers recently, but it has been awhile since I have been to a wedding shower so I had forgotten how fun they are. At baby showers (at least for first-time moms) I usually feel like the inner dialogue of the mother-to-be is something like, "Oh my gosh, this stuff is so cute but I don't really know what it is for and I am a bit nervous about the part where I have to bring this baby into the world and after I do that I REALLY don't have a clue what the heck I am doing." There is always a wee little bit of anxiety at baby showers.
Whereas at bridal showers I feel like the bride-to-be is thinking, "Yesssss! I am so excited to use this housey stuff, wear this bedroom stuff, and I am SO EXCITED TO GET MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!" All that to say, wedding showers are places of hope and bliss and romance and unbridled enthusiasm. That's good stuff to be around.
This wedding shower was for my friend Carrie. We worked together as fellow dorm-moms at Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe, Kenya in 2001-2002. Carrie threw me a surprise wedding shower in Kenya. It has been very special to re-connect with Carrie since moving to San Diego. She is so happy and I am incredibly happy for her.
Carrie's wedding shower was an eye-opening experience for me for two reasons...
The first reason has to do with this Facebook status update I posted after shopping for Carrie's shower gift:
Seriously, being in that store with my two munchkins and wearing my leggings and most comfortable old sweatshirt, was like a social experiment. I wish I had been recording the looks I got. I stuck out like a sore thumb. While standing in line I had to stop myself from cracking up at the IRONY of how out of place I felt in Victoria's Secret. I seriously wanted to yell, "Guess what people...the big SECRET of this store is that it all leads to sweatshirts, leggings, carrying babies, and chasing preschoolers!" But I didn't. Instead I went home and posted on Facebook. And judging by the "likes" and comments it seems I am not the only one who appreciates the humor and irony of my experience.
Which leads me to the second reason attending a wedding shower was eye-opening...it reminded me how excited I was to get married. Now, 9 years later, I am sick and tired of washing those dishes we registered for...and I don't even know where some of those fancy sexy bridal shower gifts have disappeared to. NEVERTHELESS...I want to try to keep that original enthusiasm for marriage alive...because marriage is something worth being excited about, no matter how long it has been. In fact, the longer it has been the MORE excited I should be about marriage!
So as I write this, siting here exhausted in my trusty red sweatshirt, next to my tired husband, in our really messy house, while our darling girls sleep, I am resolving to appreciate married life more...like I did when we were first starting out. That, and to go to Victoria's Secret without my kids next time...and buy something for myself!
