609: it was the best of times, it was the worst of times

was first said by Charles Dickens in his written work A Tale of Two Cities

and that's how i can describe the year 2012 thus far and what seems to look to be the rest of the year

Let's recap
we got engaged at the end of 2011
my MLK weekend we had a venue, colors, i had my dress, and we had our bridal party set
by feb we had flowers and invitations
and my future mother-in-law had undergone minor heart surgery but ended up back in the hospital due to a blood clot
we finally got save the date pictures done in march for DC
his grandfather's health declines and by June we have lost him
by July i am in the hospital and diagnosed with graves disease
BUT
by october we are married
and then two weeks later i am going through what is considered a thyroid storm and will have to either have radiation or surgery
go here to learn more if interested

so yes
it was the best of times, it was the worst of times

we are coming up on one month of marriage and with my health issues and other adjustments i won't lie and say it's been complete and total bliss
that's kind of hard when you wake up one day and look like you've been in a fight with said spouse, which is what happened one day two weeks ago...black eyes aren't cute and neither is a face that looks like a pizza cutter
but we look at the wedding pictures daily and the DVD almost daily and it was THE best day ever and that feeling and the feelings that i have for WHY we got married are there
the vision of him dancing with his mom who has major medical issues
the vision of me dancing with my dad who has major medical issues
is just simply beautiful!
and those memories are priceless

but true to form
life has happened, just like when we got engaged
we didn't have this bliss period
we got engaged and BAM real life stuff happened
and true to form we got married and BAM real life stuff is happening

the hardest part is just dealing with it all

the ironic thing is when you have graves you aren't supposed to stress but CLEARLY with all that has gone on, one can't help but to stress

i can say that i can't see myself being able to deal with or getting through any of this with anyone other than my husband
(ya'll peep that I got a husband, HA!)
we've been there from the beginning with everything and we will continue to be there for one another

j.a.j said it best in this blog post she said: "the wedding day IS the happy ending. Look at all the movies and fairy tales we see. That's usually how it ends. Because from that day forward, is the beginning of a life full of work and tolerance"

marriage is beautiful
i am happy to be married
i am happy to be a wife and a mother
and in a bubble where the world wouldn't be happening i'd be even happier because it would be "easy"
but when the real world happens, the fairy tale ends and reality sets in

i am just happy to have someone by my side who has VOWED to go through that reality with me, that's the aha moment
no it's not the fairytale but the partnership makes the ability to deal with reality, well for lack of a better word, a reality