Reflections

In only two more days Liz and George are going to be husband and wife. It has been a joy to see their relationship blossom over the past year. It is awesome to know that God has a plan for us and it is sometimes better than we could ever imagine.

Last weekend some of the girls got together to celebrate the upcoming wedding. We went to an area around downtown, which happened to be close to where Ben and I lived when we first got married. Its not that it is too far from where we live now, but it seems that we don't make the trip there as often. Memories came flooding back as we took the same exit I use to make when driving home from work. There is a coffee plant close by and we could smell the sweet aroma. Many days on the way home I would roll the windows down to take in the smell. Our apartment was in the top floor of an old converted department store. The ceilings were tall, two walls were made out of brick and it had large wood beams (both being used as columns and across the ceiling). It was a small place, but it made it easier to clean. We had so much fun making it our own creating a 'jazz theme.' A treble staff was created between two of the wood beams across one wall with wiring. Ben made a treble clef sign out of coat hangers and we hung our pictures as notes along the wires. Its funny how you forget things like that. One of my favorite things about the apartment was the one large window. There was a Cajun restaurant across the street and we could hear their nightly live music by raising that window. It was also nice that we did not hear the music when the window was closed. I may have not thought as fondly about the music, if that was not the case. Also, Ben made suspended bookshelves for all of my many books and we worked on a partition wall for our bedroom, which only had three walls. It made it interesting when we had company.

Although we had fun, I am thankful for where we are now. I can park my car in the garage with little worry that it is going to get broken into or stolen. Unloading groceries is not a monumental task. I don't have to call Ben as I pull into the parking lot to have him watch me walk inside. We can go for walks around the neighborhood. We can have company over to visit. We can sit outside for grilling, dinner, or just to enjoy each others company (when it is warmer, yeah spring).

As I look back into the begining of our marriage, I am reminded that Liz and George are creating a lot of 'firsts' memories that they will be able to cherish for a lifetime.