Amberly's Wedding Vows

We decided to write our own vows for the ceremony, so they would be authentic and a meet the needs of the writer and recipient. I also think they portray each of our personalities and love of each other well. Like many things where our AD/HD enters the scene, these were finished last minute (well, as last minute as our more organized officiant, Tricia, could stand). Instead of polishing them up or editing them in any way, I think I’ll stay with the authenticity and present them to you in the form they were read and are kept in our wedding binder (a beloved wedding gift from Tricia). I am posting in them, like our wedding poems, in the order in which we chose to read them in the ceremony. We concluded each of our vows with the ring exchange, so I am posting those pictures as well. Enjoy!

Robert,

As the moon and the sun compliment each other in their heavenly journeys, so, too, do we thrive when our lives are united.

                        I believe you are in my life for many reasons. You have taught me how to love and accept the person I am. I promise to continue developing my individual self and offer you the same loving acceptance to continue developing yourself. Your have taught me how to play and enjoy life. I promise to keep looking for opportunities to look at life with a light heart and a curious mind. You inspire me to nurture my goals and believe in my dreams, and I offer you that same support.

                        As we have been together, I have discovered the value of openly expressing love. I promise to give affection and attention to you and your needs, while tending to my own. I promise that with you, I will continue to nurture our relationship from which many of our needs are met.

                        The moon dances through the sky in her ever-changing guises, and the sun casts his mirthful light as he steadily marches through the sky celebrating each season. They are forever circling and complimenting each other-sometimes making space for each other and sometimes being intimately close. These cycles demonstrate the natural rhythms of two individuals as they pledge with their hearts to enter into marriage. Like these cycles, this ring symbolizes the promises I make to you now and will keep forever.

Amberly's Wedding Poem

We both picked out a poem to be read aloud during our wedding. Here is what I chose, read by my dear friend, Kimberly:

A Birthday

            By Christina Georgina Rossetti

My heart is like a singing bird
Whose nest is in a water'd shoot;
My heart is like an apple-tree
Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit;
My heart is like a rainbow shell
That paddles in a halcyon sea;
My heart is gladder than all these
Because my love is come to me.

Raise me a daïs of silk and down;
Hang it with vair and purple dyes;
Carve it in doves and pomegranates,
And peacocks with a hundred eyes;
Work it in gold and silver grapes,
In leaves and silver fleurs-de-lys;
Because the birthday of my life
Is come, my love is come to me.

Photo by Rachel Beasley

Photo by Kristina Strane

Photo by Rachel Beasley

Photo by Rachel Beasley

 

 

Photo by Rachel Beasley

Amberly Turns Thirty

Time and Tide wait for no man, but time always stands still for a woman of thirty. ~Robert Frost

            I wasn’t totally thrilled with the idea of turning thirty at first, but it began to grow on me. Maybe now that I’m married and own a home, I feel more ready to be thirty. I feel more like myself, like I’m on my life’s path. It took a couple of painful years of the Saturn return to get me on my path, but here I am and it feels great! Someone very dear to me recently told me that, “thirty is when a woman comes into her own.” I can definitely related to that sentiment!

            My sister-in-law invited me to go to the beach with her and her three sons (my new nephews) for four days before my birthday. It was such a renewing way to ease myself into my thirtieth year. I’ve always been a fish out of water, but it’s been years since I went to the beach. Being in the water and under the sun was so soothing. I also learned the lesson that the concept, “all things in moderation,” truly means ALL things in moderation-including the sun! So I entered my thirtieth year with a reminder from the folly of my youth to reapply sunscreen. I also discovered sunburns don’t heal as quickly as they did when I was 19. Ah…the great lessons life has in store for us. Despite the sunburn, the trip was great. I enjoyed spending time with my sister-in-law and nephews, and had plenty of time to read the day I was stuck inside, in bed, healing from too much sun, not enough reapplication of sunscreen.

            We returned home just in time for my birthday, literally. We hit loads of traffic on the way back, so it was after 11pm when we arrived home. Robert and I spent the following day in typical Amberly birthday style. We tried out the Flying Biscuit for the first time and loved it! We did the traditional trip to the bookstore and Italian food for dinner. We also watched P.S. I Love You as a tribute to my love of all things Ireland. It’s a good movie, but I definitely recommend the book by Cecilia Ahern, which is very different from the movie. The whole book is set in Ireland, and it tells an interesting, moving story.

            The following week, we celebrated my birthday with family at my sister- and brother-in-law’s house. We grilled out, visited, and had cake with a candle worthy of a thirty-year-old.