June!

Well - here we are! Marching into another month of married life. With our marriage still just under two months old, Clare and I still face a big learning curve. I've never been a husband, and Clare has never been anyone's wife (that's what she keeps telling me, at least), so we are both still working day in and day out to figure out what the heck it all means. I could write all day long about abstractions and nebulous ideas about love and commitment, but the concepts rarely touch on things like having dinner ready at  home or hair clogging the drain or running the sponge through the dishwasher every once in a while. These things, I suppose, are just the things you learn as you go. They are the finer staccato notes in an ongoing melody. Every so often, there is discord; but it usually only serves to heighten the enjoyment of the symphony's story.

Marriage. Is. Awesome.

It helps when you're married to your best friend.




That's something that my father taught me a long time ago, and something that Clare and I espoused early on in our courtship. We had the first part down, and we understood the order of the phrase: "Friends First, Lovers Later." It was our tacit motto, and I think it's been a good thing for us. Keeping it close in our hearts gave us the opportunity then and especially now to enjoy each other on so many levels. There is simply no way to tire of it, this experience we're having together.

Clare has been wanting to get more into photography, which I think is awesome. We have a great camera, and I think we will be able to unlock its full power once we take the time to familiarize ourselves with it more. Who knows where things like this could lead?

I have also been pushing Clare to start selling her artwork, or at least to attempt to do so. I don't want to push too hard, because of course it is her decision. But I'll use this space to remind her of the Marianne Williamson quote,

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”


Clare, my love: you are more talented, skillful and hard-working than you would ever admit.

High today of 101 degrees Fahrenheit. Muggy too. Really, walking from the office to my car is enough to break a sweat. No wonder we felt like we were going to die in Tishomingo last weekend. But that's what makes it fun!

The journey of self-discovery and discovery of self (within the framework of married life) continues!