Weekending & My Husband the Hero

Another great summer weekend in the books. This time of year is Seattle puts on its best weather performance, and we soak it up like teenagers out past curfew. We love the long light, warm summer days and nights and we are outside every chance we get. (PS this bouquet of flowers is only $1.99 at Trader Joe's right now. Such a score)

Saturday night we caught an outdoor showing of Ferris Bueller's Day Off under the space needle. We packed a picnic blanket, mason jars filled with Santa Barbara white wine, and chocolate bars. Three cheers for a free (and fun) date night.

After a non-eventful weekend, Sunday evening turned out to be interesting. We went to the beach and shared a pint of Talenti's coffee chocolate chip (yes, the entire pint) and enjoyed the sunset.

On our way home, we came across a stalled car. It was on the side of a two-lane road, and it was dark and late, almost 10:00pm. On top of that, the car was stalled just around a blind curve, and cars were coming flying past it and having to quickly merge over to avoid hitting it.

We seemed to both be thinking the same thing, because just as I said "Should we help them??" Daniel was pulling over. We jumped out and ran towards the car. It was dark and hard to see, but we saw a man hop out of the driver's seat. We asked if he needed help, and if he had AAA. He said he didn't have AAA, and we could tell that English wasn't his first language. He mentioned he thought the battery had died. At this point, we weren't really sure what was going on but we knew we had to help, and we happened to be in the right place at the right time. 

The first order of business was moving my husband's car up and around the curve, in case someone were to hit the man's car and pushed that car into ours. I jumped in and moved it to the nearest side street and ran back to my husband and the man. 

My husband instructed me to get in the driver's seat and put the car in neutral. My husband and the man were going to try to push the car to the side street. No easy task, considering it was an uphill incline and the car was a large SUV. I followed orders anyways. I hoped in, put the car in neutral, and started steering, praying for safety because of a thousands things that could have gone wrong at that point. 

It was pitch black, and in the rear view mirror I could see cars whipping around the corner and narrowing avoiding us every time. The flashers were on but that was all the signal they had, that and about 2 second to react and avoid hitting us.

Finally we got the car to the side street. We troubleshooted for what to do next. We thought the car may have stalled because it was out of gas, not the battery. We settled on buying both jumper cables and a gallon of gas nearby. We all went together and got everything. It was quite the sight, the three of us walking through the store and casually chatting. My husband offered to take me home because it was taking so long and it was late. I thought, "Are you kidding me? How could I miss this!" I love seeing Daniel be the hero and I love being along for the adventure. I had to know how this story was going to end.

We came back to the cars, and filled the gas tank. Still nothing. My husband connected the jumper cables and started his car. The man's car started, and we all cheered. Hooray!! My husband the hero. The man was so appreciative that he told us he owned a dry cleaning business nearby and wanted to give us a $100 credit. So nice of him and so not necessary. 

The funny thing is, I was reminded tonight about the intangible rewards of helping someone. I feel the same way when we volunteer at Young Life Capernum for people with special needs. I love being able to help, and so does my husband. I'm thankful I married someone who get this just as much as I do: that when you help someone, often you gain so much more than what you give - time, money, whatever it may be. We relearned this tonight and it was a such wonderful reminder of a lifelong lesson. 

So glad we said yes to helping someone last night. I hope this encourages you to also say yes and to remember that you will often gain so much more than what you think you are giving up.

38 Years

Happy wedding anniversary to my in-laws! My mother-in-law, Ruth, posted the above photo on instagram this morning and I had to repost it there and share here. Love them, this picture, and their legacy. Forever grateful to be officially related to this family.

My husband and I have a unique situation in that we've known each other since we were 5 years old. (You can read more about our dating story here.) We grew up in different states, but when I came to college in Washington, Daniel's parents became my "Seattle parents", and we would use this exact phrase and joke about it. They would come to my award ceremonies, take me out for dinner every quarter, be invested in my life, and allow me to host parties at their house. We laugh now that they are officially my parents in-law and sometimes I can't believe the fairy-tale-ness of it all myself. 

I feel like I hit the in-law jackpot, big time. I could not imagine anyone else to be related to and I love the history and depth of relationship that we have. I could cry just thinking about how grateful I am for them. I know this isn't always the case with in-laws which makes me even more thankful, and I treasure the gift that they are to me.

Thinking about 38 years together is hard to imagine. My husband and I are about to celebrate our first anniversary in a few weeks, and I wonder what life will be like after 5, 10, 15, 38+ years of marriage. So many milestones and life events to celebrate, and as much as life will change, I'm know our relationship and our marriage will too. From babies, to toddlers, to teenagers, to retirees, our lives have many changes ahead of them and I am excited to see how our marriage grows along with us.

Happy 38th, Dave and Ruth. Love you, love being related, and am so thankful for your legacy. 

On Weddings Not Going As Planned

Typically, pouring rain and outdoor, uncovered weddings don’t necessarily go hand in hand, but sometimes the least desired outcome is actually the best.

We planned for our wedding to be an intimate, 80-person celebration at the very end of summer. I always dreamed of my wedding on the shores of Lake Almanor, a remote lake in Northern California where my grandparents own a lake house and my family has visited every summer. We pictured an outdoor and uncovered ceremony and reception, not booking a tent on purpose. It was an extra couple thousand dollars, and with the average temperature for late summer being in the nineties, we decided it was an unnecessary expense.

Our wedding weekend came, and we had a warm, sun-drenched day before the wedding filled with boating, lawn games, and iced drinks. We all went to sleep full, happy, and tan. We awoke the next morning to partly gray skies, but no one expected it to rain. Then, immediately following the ceremony, just at the start of the reception, it rained. And by rained, I mean, downpour storm. We had no tent, no inside venue, no backup plan. 

There was no Plan B.

There I was, a brand new wife next to my handsome new husband, in the middle of unexpected, unplanned for, seemingly unfortunate circumstances. We had just said our vows and had committed ourselves to each other for life, and we found ourselves facing our first literal storm. I knew that this was a defining moment in our lives. We could choose to be upset about it, or we could choose to embrace it and have fun. We chose the latter and I am so glad that we did.

Since my husband and I both enjoy the dance floor and can follow a routine, we picked Beyonce’s choreographed dance to Move Your Body as our first dance. A far cry from traditional slow songs, and so perfectly fitting for what was happening all around us. The music started, the rain poured, and we danced our hearts out. The crowd was cheering and screaming, everyone was taking photos and videos, and we were dancing our choreographed first dance while splashing in puddles with me in my wedding dress and my husband in his suit. It was SO MUCH FUN. 

That memory is within the top ten moments of my life so far. A perfect picture of a near catastrophe happening all around us, and my husband and I side by side, deciding to make the most of it and turning a worst-case-scenario into The Best.

The rain continued to pour, the DJ was killing it, and everyone immediately joined us on the dance floor. How my husband and I chose to respond to the near dire circumstance set the tone for the night, and everyone seemed eager to follow suit. We had everyone out on the dance floor, from grandparents to babies, all soaked from the rain, dancing like crazy, and having the time of their lives.

In the age of pinteresty-perfect, over the top weddings, I’m thankful for a wedding that taught me a valuable life-long lesson: that nothing in life goes as planned. We get to choose how we react to every situation, and our actions will influence those around us.

To the newly engaged bride to be I say: Congratulations! You are about to embark on the most exciting, wonderful, fulfilling, lifelong adventure of your life in marriage. Remember that your wedding day is about your lifelong commitment to each other and not the color of the napkins, having peonies in your flower arrangements, or the thousands of other details we brides agonize over before the wedding. Realizing this can change your entire perspective on your wedding day. Things might happen that are unplanned, not ideal, and possibly just plain awful. This is ok, and can even be good, depending on how you react to them. Your guests will look to you for how to act on this day. If you’re having fun, they will too. When our expectations are set to perfection, they become unattainable. Keeping a level head and remembering the entire purpose of the day (you get to marry the love of your life) will help you stay grounded, and allow you to enjoy the day to the fullest, even if you find yourself caught in a pouring rainstorm.

Photo by Kate Price