Katy,K

It’s not because of the wedding

Another by-product of announcing my engagement is that people seem to think that everything I do is about the wedding.

I mentioned to someone that I joined a gym only to hear, “oh, because of the wedding?” Umm, no. If it helps me look my best for the big day, that’s great but I signed up mostly because I’m nervous about re-injuring my shoulder. Dislocating it was pretty upsetting and I’d like to avoid a repeat. My PT told me that the best way to protect it is to build up my core muscles and I haven’t been able to do that by myself. But, thanks for thinking I have a poor body image.

Then there is the letterpress class. I signed up for book arts and printing classes before I got engaged. My continued interest in printing isn’t only because I might be able to make my own invitations. Being able to do that would be a happy plus, but not the reason to take the class.

I will admit that other activities I’ve been doing such as making a dress, organizing a tasting, and searching for readings ARE because of the wedding. I mean, some things have to be about the wedding if there is going to be a wedding at all. But just like I hope that when I become a parent that not everything will be about my children, I hope that I can be an engaged person with concerns that aren’t only about getting married.

So I’m getting married. This means a lot of things but one consequence I didn’t foresee is the nightly dreams about dresses. They don’t do anything in my dream except hang there, but they are ALWAYS THERE. Clearly I need to just pick something.

Of course, then I’ll have dreams about invitations.

Ain’t it the truth

Rachel told me a story about the time an exasperated teacher asked her students if they even enjoyed writing. After a strained pause a student finally spoke up and said, “I like having written.“ 

I have to try to remember the good things every day, or the sadness can overtake me.

Winter of our Discontent

No one ever gets this reference right and I find it interesting how we have turned this allusion upside down. Shakespeare wrote, “Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this sun of York” in Richard III. He meant that the discontent is over. The winter of our discontent, friends, is actually a good thing. It’s the last sad coughing fit of a troubled time before the bright fresh warmth of spring overtakes it.

All of those journalists, politicians, economists, and the like who wail about our country’s problems, claiming that we are descending into darkness, don’t realize that the winter of our discontent is actually a reference to recovery and hope. If what they mean is that we are in the longest most punishing place of unhappiness, they might do better to talk about the summer of our discontent instead.

But people can, have, and will continue to hijack language for their own purposes either by design or misunderstanding, so no sense in complaining too much.