Probably, August 3rd should be today.

Miles and I chose a wedding date that was 6 months away from when we got engaged. If you're like most people, you probably think we're crazy (Side note: It's a lot more fun for the bride-to-be if you talk wedding details and engagement stories and 'tell me about your guy!').  As for me, for most of the engagement, I have loved it.  Wedding planning has been zero stress and all fun.  Every time we plan a little detail or find the perfect decoration it's delightful.  When we took our engagement pictures, our photographer asked us,

"How's wedding planning?"

We answered with huge smiles, "Great!"

She was surprised.  I guess the more usual response is to be stressed.  Are you kidding me?  This is a party!! I'm planning the day of our dreams with the man who fills me with incredible happiness! What's not to love?  On top of that, Miles and I have grown incredibly close, in large part because we've had the luxury of going on dates, relaxing together, and making non-wedding related future plans (read, "We're going to be rich!!" ha ha jk).  We have prepped for marriage, too, not just the wedding event, by reading books, going to the temple, and just learning more about each other. 

Would I recommend a "long" engagement?  Absolutely.   Exceeeept for one little problem.  I want to be married to the love of my life.  It just doesn't make sense anymore.  I want to come home to our little apartment and our new memory foam bed and a love that's complete.  We literally cannot get enough "us" time. We're starting to feel anxious and underloved, and there's this perfect solution just waiting for us--marriage and life together, as a unit, no longer two of us but one.  53 days and counting.  I can't wait to get there. 

In particular

You know what kinda makes me sad?  It makes me sad that we forget all of the little things that really characterize our experiences with people.  Even little annoyances—like teacher-deaf children and the same pop song every morning—can take a stale memory and make it real.  

Take tonight; for instance.  I wish that I could remember every single face that was in those choirs up on stage.  John singin’ “My Girl” like it’s nobody’s business; little Danielle singing “Somethings are Meant to Be” with as much enthusiasm and talent as a little 12-year old girl can muster; Jolly Old (his name is Nicholas, but we call him jolly old…and he’s hilarious) with a look that says, ‘We got this Miss Hagen’, William pretending he doesn’t like dancing around on stage but with a smirk that betrays how much fun he’s having.  

So many delightful people throughout my life but I remember so little of my time with them.

And yet there is also the feeling—the main imprint that an experience leaves—that we get to keep forever.  I get to remember what it feels like to stand in front of a choir and feel an incredible satisfaction and kinship, and a disbelief that we—all of us—did it.  We really all performed at our best, and that represented a whole lot of learning for just a couple of months of time.  Student teacher included.

Ha--I had 2 boys come up and start a song with an a cappella solo.  One stepped to the mic and whispered, 

“I’m gonna die!!”  I had to turn to the audience and say,

“He didn’t mean it!!”

Of course he did just fine. :)

Hey guess what?  I’m training for the best career EVER.  I feel pretty darn good about that.

Diamond in the rough

So the other day I gave all of my students a pre-test.  They say disequillibrium is a good first stage in learning...I sure hope so, because there was some serious panic as they looked at the paper in front of them and realized--they didn't really have a clue.

For me; however, I gotta say that I loved correcting their papers (I'm sure that won't take long to wear off).  Little smiley faces, distressed question marks, and a few surprise gems.  One of the questions asked what the composer wanted you to do when you saw a certain marking in the music.  Here are some of the responses:

Run into taco Bell

How should I know?

Go fast with a candy bar I don't know

obey

See what I mean? Gems.

Starting Out

Hi everyone!

Shout out to blogging! Woot!  I love all of your blogs and have decided to join the fun.  The title of the blog, "A happy ending once a day", comes from my favorite book written by my favorite author of all time:

Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine

 

At one point in the story Doug is wondering what happened to happy endings.  His little brother, Tom, insists that even just the simple act of going to bed each night is “a happy ending once a day.”  

I believe in happy endings—in a grand scale, fairy tale princess sort of way and in a small scale, savoring the little things sort of way. I believe in pushing back your horizons and learning to join the dance (see “Through Heaven’s Eyes”) My favorite words are delight and inspire.

And when the hard days come, it doesn’t hurt to listen to this 10-year old’s advice…"A good night's sleep, or a ten-minute bawl, or a pint of chocolate ice cream, or all three together, is good medicine, Doug. You listen to Tom Spaulding, M.D."