This is Our Month

This morning, my alarm clock went off at 8:15 as it does every morning.  I hit the snooze button 4 times as I do every morning.  I rushed around like a madwoman to get to work on time, as I do every morning.  Once at work, I flipped the page on the calender to the current date, as I do every morning.

And UNLIKE every other morning, THIS morning, the date on the calender said "July 2010".

July 2010.  As in, "Kayci and Jeff request the pleasure of your company at their wedding on July __ 2010".  As in, we're getting married *this* month!

I cannot understand how time has passed so quickly to get us here.  Our wedding is just around the corner.  I have had my last Thanksgiving as a single woman, my last Christmas as a single woman, my last birthday as a single woman.  There are no more "lasts".  Now there are only firsts.  First dance as a married couple, first vacation as a married couple, first holidays as a married couple.  And, someday, first dog, first house, first child.

When Jeff proposed 11 months ago, everyone warned me how quickly the time until the wedding would pass.  I would smile, laugh, and tell them it couldn't come fast enough, as far as I was concerned.  And now it's almost here, and I truly understand what they mean.  I still haven't gotten used to the ring on my left hand (I catch myself staring at it on a regular basis, interrupting my typing, cooking, and driving).  I still can't think of Jeff as my "fiance" without wanting to giggle at how formal and grown-up it sounds.  But in just a couple of weeks--later THIS MONTH--he will be my husband.  I could not be happier, and I cannot wait for the day to come.  But the realization that it's just a couple of lines away on the calender also makes me want to slow down and appreciate it all.  While I've been dashing from vendor to vendor and complaining about my stress levels everyone's been telling me that this is the happiest time of my life, and I should enjoy it.  And I thought they were crazy. But, in some small way, I'm beginning to see what they mean.  As much as it felt like it back when we were setting dates and picking colors, this time really won't last forever.  We have such a short amount of time left as "Miss and Mr.", and, God willing, such a long time ahead of us as "Mr. and Mrs."  And that's something to slow down and enjoy.