So wise, so brilliant, so completely terrible at public speaking

So I bet you guys are all DYING to know how it went being Experts at the pre-marriage class last night. Well, unfortunately I can't give you a transcript to prove how wise and eloquent we were, so suffice to say that any such transcript would be smothered in "um", "...", "anyway", "like" and one instance of "Crap I totally lost my train of thought. Craaaap." The almost-marrieds were BEGGING for our autographs and the class leaders already scheduled us for the next session.

I'm the sort of person who practices how I'm going to order a pizza, so Phillip's "I'm sure they'll ask us a question and we'll just answer it" style of Imparting Wisdom didn't really work for me. Especially because they didn't ASK us a question, they merely said, "Now Phillip and Maggie are going to share about spirituality in their marriage!" and we looked at each other like dumb fools. You go first, no you go first!

I guess it was okay. Once my panicky insecure self stopped counting up all the couples I knew who are infinitely more "spiritual" than we are and realized we were just being trotted out as the Young Couple Who Stuck Around And Got Involved, it went all right. Father was particularly interested in having us brag about how we are on the pastoral council (Phillip) and worship and spiritual life commission (me) and to say many many things along the lines of: look! People our age can participate! Please don't leave! Please don't get married in our pretty pretty church and disappear! Register and become a eucharistic minister and give us money to build the parish center in Zambia!

But no one is going to make me the poster girl for Getting Involved (and haaaa! actually, the fact that I just wrote that phrase makes me giggle hysterically) if I don't get to tell them that it WAS NOT EASY. Sure we talked it up and got excited and one of us may have been a little more emotionally enthusiastic than the other in wanting the almost-marrieds to know HOW great it is (why- WHY- do I turn into an incomprehensible jabbering idiot whenever I am excited about something?), but we didn't sugarcoat how long it took or how frustrating it was to get where we are, not to mention that we've barely started. I guess we are a good example of commitment. We did our share of church shopping, but we came back and decided: this is it.

Anyway, the best part of the whole night was sitting up at the front and thinking to myself: THANK GOD I DON'T HAVE TO DO ANY OF THIS STUFF. I was sitting on three years of "gee, this worked out after all!" and totally not caring about readings and processions and who will sing what. Which is funny, because lately I've been in kind of a nostalgic funk, where I keep asking Phillip if he remembers what it was like when we first knew each other, when we started dating, how it felt. Like I want some of that excitement back. And then last night, to be so relieved and comfortable in my own not-much-of-a-newlywed-anymore place... it was so nice.

Tomorrow we leave for that hotbed of thrills and excitement, Cincinnati, Ohio, whereupon we will spoil our nephews, eat our weight in Graeter's ice cream and spend three paychecks in two days. Oh wait, that last one is just me. And my sister-in-law. We will probably spend each of our evenings at the dining room table in front of our respective laptops. Phillip and his brother will be dorking out over something dorky, I will be checking up on my blogs and my sister-in-law will be shopping at fourteen different stores while simultaneously selling her handbags on ebay. THAT is how fun we are! I hear we are going to the zoo, the X-men movie and swimming lessons. Also? IT IS GOING TO BE SUNNY AND WARM AND HOT AND TOASTY AND SUNDRESS WEATHER AND BRIGHT AND NOT RAINING. If all goes as planned, I may have to change my opinion of Cincinnati, Ohio. Especially if the Aveda salon up the street from the house can make me look like this. I've got the long hair going for me, but my bone structure is going to need some work. (Also House would totally be my new favorite show if it wasn't so GROSS. Why so gross, Hugh Laurie?)

Happy long weekend everybody!

Comments

[Jennifer]

Hi Maggie, thanks for commenting over at my blog---I'm glad to have found yours. Enjoying reading it so far.

I think I've been here before--it looks familiar but I'm here to stay now.