It’s a crazy life, ain’t it, Gracious Reader?
Last time I posted on this blog, I was sitting at my kitchen table in my childhood home in Texas. I am now sitting in my own home. A home that I pay rent for. An apartment home. An apartment home that I pay rent for in Georgia. I am not sitting at a table because I have no table! I just recently got a couch, lay off! You, Gracious Reader, might be thinking, “Jack, you’re unemployed. How are you paying for an apartment? And a couch??” Allow me to retort. I GOT FREAKIN MARRIED!!! (So Darby also pays rent here;))
Approximately 10 days after I posted my previous blog, we decided that there was no way in H-E-doublehockeysticks that the government was going to allow us to get 300+ people together in semi-rural Iowa for a wedding. So we called an audible. We said, “heck, why don’t we just drive to Bozeman (where Darby is from and where her parents live) and tie the knot?” So, we did! I won’t bore you with the details, but it was incredible and I am happily married to the gal of my dreams!!!
Now that I have a wife that I live with in an apartment home in Georgia, I have allowed myself to make observations and write them down, just as any good research assistant might do. Here are a few:
-”Ah, yes, marriage. Should be easy enough! (04/28/20)”
-”I noticed that The Woman washes her face at night. When we wake up, She washes her face again. If my calculations are correct, that’s two times a day. I will continue to observe and report (04/30/20)”
-”We, The Woman and I, have begun sharing a dresser. This required a purge of old t-shirts. This was more painful than I care to admit. I am, however, glad that I did it. (05/03/20)”
-”It seems that The Woman likes to wear my t-shirts. Haha. This is a cute thing that She does. (05/04/20)”
-”A week in. Many more to go. I quite enjoy this marriage thing. (05/05/20)
-”We made our bed as soon as we woke up today, even though we’re sleeping in it tonight and have no one coming over today. It seems highly inefficient but I will do it because She asked me to. (05/07/20)
-”The Woman has done two loads of laundry today. Interesting. (05/07/20)”
-”If The Woman notices that my attention is elsewhere for prolonged periods of time, She asks if I still love her. I reply yes every time, of course, because I, in fact, do. (05/08/20”
-”The Woman has asked that I close the drawers when I’m done using them. She politely also points out when the kitchen cabinets are left open by me. I will work on it. (05/09/20)”
-”I have begun washing my face at night. May the force of habit sweep me off my feet. (05/10/20)”
-”The Woman is much more gracious and kinder than I am. (05/11/20)”
-”She doesn’t mind that I play video games. This is quite an interesting development and not how I hypothesized she would react. I plan to push these boundaries and see how long I can go. This may be my last journal entry. (05/13/20)”
Another interesting life update is that I am officially an alum of the Raleigh Fellows program. In all seriousness, I am more than grateful for the Fellows and the community surrounding it. The past 9.5 months have been some of the most important of my life to date. I was a sheep and a Shepherd, a student and a teacher, a speaker and a listener, a resident and a guest. I cannot put into words how this year has shaped me. I truly can’t tell you all that I’ve learned. It was the best of times with the best of people.
Thank You, Young Family. Thank You, Church of the Apostles. Thank You, Ashley. Thank You, Gracious Reader. Thank You, Raleigh.
-Jack B.