This One's For The Ladies

I have been a neglectful little blogger recently due to the fact that....I'M GETTING MARRIED! Blogging is for the post-wedding Jackie who has no important life changing decisions to make like: hair-up, hair-down? To see before the wedding or not to see? 5:00 or 5:30? Will people dance or not dance? Everyone better dance!!

But I do have a little thought to put out there to the universe. It's about women. The week after I got engaged, I had the pleasure of going out to Oklahoma to visit my grandparents while my Alabama parents and Aunt were also in town. I didn't grow up with any sisters so I have always felt very attached to my mom's sisters. I remember following my mom around and around the house while she chatted with Cathy and Cheryl about mundane things, about funny things and sometimes about serious things. These hours of phone conversations gave me an example of what deep female relationships can do for a woman. They kept this up across the miles and over the years, only to all gather just a couple of times a year with hoops, hollars, laughing, and lots of love. They aren't perfect, but they are sisters.

It was into this atmosphere I arrived in Oklahoma, freshly engaged and on a mission. I needed a dress, and fast. There I was, right in the middle of the Skaggs women, just the right place to be to get the job done. With excitement and expectation we set out to the dress shop to see what we could find. Every dress was met with "Ohhs", "Ahhs", and sometimes "I don't think so's". We debated, we tried this veil and then that one. We tried this dress on and then again one more time and then once more. We sang it's praises and then voiced concerns, but I finally knew that it was the dress when I just didn't want to take it off. I'm so glad I found a dress. But what I really could jump up and down about is how greatly blessed I am to have such a circle of women in my family that will be so joyful with me in my joy, women that will surround me with love. That is what I felt like, like I was wrapped in a blanket of love. Thank you Mama, Mom Skaggs, Cathy, Cheryl and Micayla.

But this isn't the only example. From best friends to people I barely know, the news of my engagement brought squeals of joy, I'm serious, actual squeals. People at work often ask me for the latest in wedding plans and bring me little things like fake diamond ring key chains. I have been flattered by friends that have offered to throw showers, jump in and get their hands dirty with planning or just simply be there for me during this time. You know who you are. And all of this is not because of me, it's because of who women are. We stand by each other in joy. We squeal over weddings, we feel pregnant bellies, we gush over a newborn. We are also there for each other in times of pain. We cry together, we hash out our problems, we listen, and we care.

So, this post goes out to the ladies. We've got lots of issues as women, many can be attributed to hormones and men, but we are a darn good creation. We are strong, we are full of love, and we will be there for each other.

And to me, this is worth a million perfect dresses.

A Natural Engagement

The news is out. The all-important Facebook status has changed. The package has been delivered, and has a new home on my finger. Corey and I are getting married. But can I still call him my boyfriend? Because after 2 years I was just getting used to that terminology and now I've got to change it to some strange French(?) word and somehow resist the urge to say "fiance" like Vernon T. Waldrip in Oh Brother Where Art Thou. But I digress.


Corey and I are gettin' married and I'm still pinching myself because I don't feel any different. Are you supposed to feel inherently different? I'm excited, I feel blessed, I'm full of love, and I have a conspicuous new addition to my hand, but different? I think not. But when I do think about it, natural is the word that come to mind.


And it was natural on Saturday when we were walking on the trail and looking at the beautiful waterfalls and just enjoying being together. It all happened when we were taking a break from hiking. We were just sitting on a rock near some flowing water and watching a stick. This stick was laying on the rock with the water rushing over it and looked like it was moving down hill. It went something like this:
J: "Corey, that stick looks like it's moving."
C: "Yeah it does."
J: "It just moves a little bit every once in a while."
C: "Wait, I don't really know if it's moving."
J: Still contemplating, Is the stick moving or is it not?
J: Mind wandering to some random thought, food more than likely.
C: Digging in backpack then getting on his knee.
C: "I love you, Will you marry me?"

And as naturally as that, we got engaged. I'm excited about the next few months where I can use all of the knowledge I have gained about weddings ever since I was tearing out pages of wedding magazines in 5th grade. But more than that, I'm excited to start a lifetime love affair, friendship, and partnership. I'm excited to have someone around that actually likes to do the dishes and doesn't tend to forget things like house keys after you already locked the door. And I'm excited to bring my depth of emotion and sawmill gravy making abilities to a marriage that will surely be very hard but by the grace of God, a blessing to us both.


Enjoy the pics!

The swanky steakhouse where we ate after we got engaged.

Fireflies

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!"

I can't remember the last time I saw a firefly. I feel like they somehow disappeared from the South in recent years or I had just been too busy to notice them. I remember being fascinated by them as a child, mesmerized by the off-beat flashes that crowded the sky at dusk.

Tonight, after a long day of work I was drawn out of my somewhat stuffy house by a cool June breeze and the sounds of the birds and kids playing on the street. I walked down the hill to a little bench where I sit that is just a few feet from the woods. It looks out to a large grassy area that doesn't belong to anyone in particular but borders several houses and gardens. I go there in the evenings alone or with Corey to sit and enjoy the fresh air and smell the flowers and trees and earth. That sounds crazy but if you grow up with the smell of dirt and then you move to a place where that smell is not so easy to come by...believe me, you miss the smell of dirt. It is always refreshing but tonight was different. Tonight there were fireflies, everywhere. I imagined that it was the most spectacular fireworks show little ants had ever seen. I watched them, I watched them for a while and just soaked in the smells, the sounds and the little flickers of light--summer at its best.

When I woke up this morning, I didn't know I would end up being blessed by a firefly. I'm a believer. His mercies are new every morning, great is his faithfulness to me.