Top 5 (1-2) of 2005

Top 5 moments of 2005
in no particular order (except #1):

1) My wedding (actually Dec 26, 2004)
What started as a stomach ache turned into the most beautiful winter day. For a couple months it totally stressed me out think of planning the day. After we sat down and decided on the 26th, I realized I had three weeks to plan. It all came together perfectly, including my grandparents impromptu trip to Madison for the wedding.
The day went off without a hitch: The vows were a surprise, the cake was buttery heaven decorated with baby pink roses, the people were merry and the groom was handsome in a red tie. This was all I wanted out of the day, but there was so much more too...my grandma’s fur, the warm fireplace in the barn, the love songs I picked out, the champagne, the pink lilies. Thanks to Jana's insisting, we stayed at a lovely little inn that night with a jacuzzi hot tub and king size bed under skylights. I have to tell you without being too graphic that there is definitely something to "consummating the marriage" for the first time. It was quite magical (aka super great sex). The night was just alive with love.



2) Day at the Wisconsin River
This year I have had the lovely chance to meet my neighbors and for the first time (since I left my parent’s house), I feel at home where I live. These golden people are such treasures. This summer we all spent the day together at a tiny cabin on the Wisconsin River. It was a warm, sunny October day and we were all in bare feet playing on the smooth sand beach without any sign of civilization in sight. It was one of those ageless days that I could have been 6 or 16 or 26... where I felt I could cartwheel my way down the river. I was simply delighted to feel the weight of the sand on my hands and between my toes as I was buried up to my neck, to float down river in the canoe with no destination with my lover, to watch the hawk dive into the river for a dinner of fresh fish. We followed a tiny trail on the beach and found the fuzziest black and brown catapillar making his way through the weeds over mounds of sand. I watched him for awhile, imagining how in the world he would become a butterfly. And thinking that life is like that, feeling like a small catapillar on a big beach, how every footprint becomes an tedious obstacle, but how easy and satisfying it can be just to trudge along. How knowing that days like that exist and that catapillar has the potential to be a butterfly. I was with all my new friends who felt like I had known them for years and this was our reunion after not seeing each other for a decade. Together we laughed and played in the sand, and simply loved life for the day.