Well loyal readers, we did it, Matty and I went and got ourselves hitched!
It was beautiful. It was perfect. It went by in the blink of an eye. Our friends and family all had a blast, there was eating and drinking and dancing, laughing and crying and hugging, and at the end of it all, there were two who had become one.
In addition to everything that Matty and I are: best friends, teammates, lovers, and partners, we are now married, family, united in one with the Church and with each other. I have to admit - it feels totally different. I am still absolutely head over heels in love with him, as I have been since the day I met him, but I am now just so secure in that love, so committed and protective and calmed by the union that we now share. It is, in one word, bliss.
After our wedding and the super fun party of a reception that followed, Matty and I jetted off to South Beach for a few days on the beach. We slept in late, drank bloody Maria's (with tequila, because when in Rome...), lazed around on the beach and in the waves, ate plates of Cuban food and oysters and crabs, explored somewhere we had never been, and started to get used to these new titles of "husband" and "wife". After a few days we hopped in our convertible Mustang and drove through the Everglades and into Orlando, where we checked ourselves into one of the most beautiful resorts I have ever stayed at. Our bed in our one-bedroom suite was so large that I literally had to take a cab over to Matty's side of the bed if I wanted to cuddle. Here we spent lots of time by the pool, slid down the water slide connected to said pool, visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and the Magic Kingdom at Disneyworld, ate more food, slept in late and went to bed earlier, and got ready to come home to our new life together. We had a wonderful time and got to enjoy the best of both worlds: sunning and relaxing and being total happy nerds together at the theme parks.
Then, we got on a plane and we came back to Boston and back to our home. We spent two days unpacking, opening gifts and getting my name changed. This latter task actually took the shortest amount of time - we were somehow blessed by the patron saint of beauracracy and were able to get to City Hall, Social Security and the Registry and get everything done there that we needed to in time to hit Jacob Wirth for beers and brats by lunchtime. A wedding miracle indeed!
And now here we are. We have been married for a whole three weeks and it is the best feeling in the world! I have been spending my time diving head first back into volunteering and being domestic - last night I made an awesome Italian stuffed pepper and finished all my Thank You cards while Matty watched football and moved his feet when I needed to sweep. It may seem like a boring Sunday, but it is actually exactly how we wanted it - at home, together, doing the things that we love. I am currently finishing up a course by the Red Cross on Disaster Assessment and Relief and am going to be certified to help set up and run emergency shelters in the case of a major disaster in MA, or anywhere that I can get to when disaster strikes. This is something that I have wanted to do since Katrina made landfall in 2005 and again when the earthquakes struck Haiti recently. Watching human suffering play out in the media and knowing that your presence would only be a nuisance is totally heartbreaking, so I took this course in order to untie my hands and be able to respond the next time something like that happens. I have enjoyed it so much I am thinking about taking some of the other courses, including the ones in Volunteer Case Management, since that is what I do and I could translate those skills into working with disaster victims. I am also starting a Community Dialogue with the YWCA where we will talk about race relations in Boston. This will be my first time taking part in something like this since we practiced in my Civic Leadership courses, so I am nervous and excited. I think that right now is a critical time to be having this conversation with my neighbors and other community members, and I hope that it can someway, somehow address the tragic violence that has been escalating and has now culminated in four more pointless deaths in Mattapan and possibly even open the way for figuring out how the community can help end this violence.
Have I mentioned that I have finally accepted I am only really, truly happy with a dozen things on my plate? Well, it's true - might as well stop fighting it and embrace it!
Speaking of full plates, I am also planning something huge and potentially life changing for me. I don't want to give it away yet, because there are still a few details that I want to have worked out before I make the big announcement, but I have decided to turn one of my most favorite hobbies into a side project that will generate some income and allow me to branch out my skill to others. I am sure that some of you will be able to guess what this is, but keep your lips zipped! I will let the cat out of the bag by the end of the week....until then, laissez les bon temps roulez!
XoXo,
Mrs. Stefanie O'Shea
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