Traveling with Joe

On December 14, 2015 at around 6:45pm my partner of 7 years and I were married.

While many couples work hard to have big weddings, we worked equally hard to have a small one.  Initially it was meant to just be 4 of us; my partner and I, the Officiate and the Witness.  By the time it was all said and done we had 10 people at the Ceremony followed by a catered dinner for 18 at our home.  It was absolutely perfect.

The Ceremony.  We each added a “Best Person” to give us away.

Dinner for 18 in the living room.

Seeing Tim smile and hearing him laugh has always melted my heart so when it happened during the Ceremony it was truly one of those magic moments.  I hope we can maintain some level of this connection for as long as it is humanly possible.

When the Supreme Court struck down the dumb ass laws making it difficult for Gays & Lesbians to Marry, we were already engaged.  I’ve mentioned in a previous post how awkward it might have felt to be married here in California but not in another State.  With as much evil as there is in the world right now, it is a relief that we can celebrate our union no matter where we are; at least in our own Country.  For those of you who are against Gay Marriage, I encourage you to look at the smiles in the picture above.  If that isn’t God to you then I feel sorry for your beliefs as they must cause you much pain.

We had our second (week) anniversary this past Monday.  No, we did not celebrate it.  It did dawn on me at some point in the evening so I went in to where my husband was working and kissed him on the cheek.  It was nice.

Much has happened in this past year.  We finally found “the house” and in less than a month we closed escrow on it.  During the next month we did a lot of dirty, dusty work to the house, a lot of which was done while I was living in the Guest Room.  Once most of the work was done and Tim was able to get caught up, he moved in as well.  A few months later we are married.

I’m not sure I can honestly say that this is what I have dreamed about all my life.  Truth be told, I’m not sure what my plans were.  But I find this new paradigm to be extremely pleasant.  After being together for 7 years, Tim and I have worked out what I hope are most of the kinks in our relationship.  Two independent, adult men coming together at our ages was a bit of a nuclear collision but we managed to keep it together and, I think, have become better people for it.  In the process I have discovered what it feels like to be in love with someone and be past that puppy dog stage in the beginning that can be so distracting.

After walking the Camino de Santiago twice in less than a year; two 500 mile treks, I had a knee trying to go out and inexplicably a shoulder that would periodically go into spasm and stay there until I got a Cortical Steroid shot.  Partly by design and partly by instinct I have gone into physical hibernation which is the polite way of saying I let my body go to hell.

This New Years, like so many other people and for the first time, I will be making a New Years Resolution to get back on the fitness treadmill.  Over the decades that I have been working out I have taken long breaks like this before so I know that it’s going to suck at first.  What I can’t predict because it is a moving target, is how much harder it will be this time because I am older than before.  Not many things get easier with age and getting fit (again) is not one of them.  I only write this now so I can look back in a year to see if I actually pulled it off.

As I look back over the past year I have to give myself a little credit because it was a crazy ass year.  As I look forward into 2016 my biggest hurdle is to lose a few pounds.  This is the first year in a long time that I can say that my known hurdles are so benign.  It’s a good feeling.

Happy New Year to those of you who’ve made it this far.  I can only hope that your lives have become as uncomplicated as mine, that you are happy and healthy, and that your life is full of love and laughter or at least a puppy.

Our adopted puppy “Santa”

 

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year.

Joe Jeter – December 31, 2015