Our Tale

I know you're out there, and I cannot wait to find you...

I can see it all so clearly.
It's picture perfect.
A romance more powerful than fairy tales. A love that outsiders envy. A love story that is passed on to grandchildren.
Timeless. Passionate. Simple.
However, not perfect.

The 'ups' are sky high and dreamy.
And we only get through the 'lows' squeezing each others' hand so-so tightly. One set of fingers interlaced, and the other set crossed.
We will make one anther's' dreams come true.
We will have rough days.
We'll fight so hard that we can't stand to look at each other.
...Eventually we'll come out the other side in hysterics about how stubborn we've been.

There will be days so magical- we'd wish they'd never end.
I'll stare at you on a wedding day, and you'll swear you'd never seen anything as pretty as I.
My belly will get round with a baby. I'll get cranky when my feet swell-
and you'll rub them while we conjure up the perfect name.

You'll bring home my favorite flowers, and I'll be making your favorite for dinner.
We'll sing our favorite songs with wooden spoons and spatulas as microphones.
Dance til our feet hurt. Sing til our throats are itchy. Laugh til our sides hurt.
We'll get wild stares from our kids about how ridiculous we are.
And they wont be able to resist joining in our silly games.

We'll go to all of the baseball games.
You'll be so proud- they remembered how you taught them to bat.
We'll listen to the plunking of a piano- trying to get the chords straight.
And I'll swear we have a concert pianist.
We'll stay up and worry when our daughter goes on her first date.
And remember ours. You'll swear you'd never seen anyone as beautiful.

The time will pass- almost too quickly.
In no time, we'll be celebrating 50 years of our love story.
We'll recollect all the highs and lows, and the in betweens.
The magic, and the curses.
We'll be so incandescently in love. More so than when we started out.
It will all have been worth it.
Dirty diapers.
Promotions.
Teaching a child to ride a bike.
Dance lessons.
Football Championships.
Camping trips.
Giving a daughter away to her 'prince charming'.
More dirty diapers... (grandchildren)
Retirement.
Dancing in the kitchen...

We'll still hold our knobby hands together, as we shuffle down the street.
We'll not leave the others' side when one is sick.
We'll always fight over the most nonsensical things, but we'll definitely know the outcome.
And you will still swear you've never seen anyone as breath taking as me.
It will be better than any fairy tale, because it will be our tale.

Priceless

Own It. Work It.

Whether you are wearing an outfit that cost you 5 dollars, or one that cost upwards of 5 thousand dollars- That apparel does not in any way define you.You define the apparel.
I recently sauntered into Chanel. I adore Chanel. I dream of Chanel. I felt like a complete poser. I felt unworthy of being in the store. I deemed myself out of place. I didn't spend more than 10 minutes fawning over the latest couture before I felt insanely and awkwardly out of place. The excitement I had felt walking onto Rodeo Drive had quickly diminished, and all of a sudden noticed all of the rich women- and wanted nothing more than to duck out of Rodeo drive and back into my local mall...

Then there was Tiffany's.
We tip toed over to the diamonds, and each picked out our favorite of the impeccable engagement rings. I was intoxicated by the allure of the sparkling gems, and though it was hard to step away, we began to move onward. Toward the gem stones and charms, the bracelets and watches, and we were stopped.
"How are you lovely ladies doing today?" (As normal salesman- customer conversations go- you can imagine the simple banter)
We were asked if we had found the diamonds, and even though we were insistant on "just window shopping", we were asked if we wanted to try anything on.
We took this opportunity and looked at the two diamond rings we had fallen in love with.
Our lovely salesman let us try on and pass around the first diamond ring. It was huge, and perfect, and only $95,000....
When asked what other rings we were interested in- I pointed to my favorite.
A 7.5 carat diamond ring priced at $685,000. It was the most spectacular cut and perfect clarity. And because of the price and value of this ring, our salesman directed us to a showing room.
With great precision and extreme caution, I tried on this pristine ring. After all the 'ooing and ahhing' and adoring how magical my finger looked with such a ring- I received the greatest lesson, and it goes something like this:
Whether you have a simple silver band for a wedding ring, or a humoungus 7 carat diamond mounted on a diamond encrusted setting- be proud of what you have. There is something for everyone, and everyone's "something" is different. Special in it's own way.
Everyone wakes up to the same rising sun, and goes to sleep under the same blanket of stars.
Be proud of who you are. Walk tall with your head up. Do not be ashamed of what covers your body; because your heart is your most valuable accessory.

I walked out of Tiffany's, and onto Rodeo Drive with a new outlook. I was not wearing the latest Chanel, but I was wearing a renewed sense of self, worth more than a million bucks.