Being Grateful

I haven't written about them yet as I want it to be a surprise for all our guests, but our invitations arrived from the printer a couple weeks ago (side note: eeeeeek! so exciting). With their arrival came the need to finally track down those missing addresses, figure out the envelope addressing issue, and assemble the invites 'till the wee hours of the night.

Yesterday, I decided to lament about my frustrations with printing out the guest envelopes one by one. . by one. What does any normal, rational, overly dependent upon social media individual do? They update their facebook status.

I got the usual "Likes" and a few comments offering to help me finish the never-ending stack of envelopes, (which was very much appreciated by the way!)

One response was different.


A couple years ago, I had the chance to study abroad in Austria for a semester. A fellow exchange student and I took a long weekend and flew to Paris for a little fun in the city of love. We met a guy from Australia and a woman from Washington and the four of us took on the town together. It was an amazing 5 days. We all remain in touch through the wonders of the Internet.

Australia (as he will be known in this post) sent me a chat message in response to my status.

He said, "As arduous as this task may be, be grateful that you have found love."

Not to be too dramatic, but his sentence rocked my wedding world. It was so simple, yet had such a profound effect. It put all the hard work, many hours, and tears of frustration and joy surrounding this wedding into rightful perspective.

I was reminded of why I was doing all this. I was reminded to be thankful for having found someone to love with everything I have. I was reminded to appreciate every day and every moment that we have together. This wedding isn't just about printing envelopes, or what shoes will go with the dress, or even what song we will choose as our first dance. It's about celebrating having found love, and promising to commit to that love through the ups and downs that we will surely face in life.

So tonight, as I continue to work on our invites, muttering obscenities at the printer for constantly jamming, I will remember to be grateful. Grateful that love found its way in, grateful for the chance to give my love out. I feel refreshed about our wedding and have a new excitement for that day to arrive.

Until then. . .