my sweetest find

This blog is mostly a love letter we write each other, but I also love knowing that it is an open book.

The news from Maple Grove…. Kevin will keep his apartment until January, but to show the veracity of his commitment he moved his books to the townhouse. I haven’t unpacked all the boxes, but the books are on shelves, interfiled. We went to Ikea and walked around evaluating until we found the perfect set of book shelves. Non-fiction is organized by category in the spare room we’re calling the library.  Fiction and poetry are organized alphabetically, by author in the living room. Our small collection of children’s books are on a low shelf for little visitors. We assembled a small box of books where we owned two copies, and drove them to sell at Half-Price Books.

When I was 6 or 7 years old and searching for the perfect stuffed animal, I found the Gund Snuffles bear at Carson Pirie Scott at the Southlake Mall. I loved the bear, but didn’t think he looked enough like a bear. At the same time (1980), Hallmark developed the Shirt Tales which were featured on stickers. Ah Stickers- sigh. I thought my Gund looked more like the mole on Shirt Tales. Thus entered Mole, my security blanket into my life. With the exception of a lost season (maybe six months) that Mole spent in Louisville, Kentucky (I was very distraught), he was a mainstay of my childhood.

Kevin met Mole when we were dating and often tells me about Mole’s adventures. One time when we started the Nintendo Wii, Kevin explained that Mole liked to play when we weren’t home. Sure enough, Mole had his own Mii and a bit of game history. Mole also dislikes reality television and has a penchant for napping, according to Kevin.

We (ah, yes the bear, too) moved this past weekend, and Kevin sent me this photo when I was at work:

"I told you he likes to look out the window."

I apologize that my posts have been slightly less “polished” than I would like, but I’m still working through my lack of cohesive subject generation.

Last weekend, thanks to the help of Paul, Steve, Alicia, and Nate (who helped with morale,) we moved Meg into our new home in Maple Grove.  I call it that even though Meg will be the principal occupant until after the wedding in January.  I think it’s mainly because I’m anxious to start sharing this new space with her, and living our lives together all the time.  Luckily for me, she feels the same way and we’ve been talking actively about what decorating and other choices we would make to our new townhome together.  It’s obvious to both of us that we will not live here forever, but it will be a great place for us to start our lives together and make it our home regardless.

Moving is a excellent test of endurance, and everyone did really well.  I am so glad, we had help the we did.  Everyone pitched in and we got things done in record time.  Mainly thanks to Meg’s great prep work in the weeks that preceded the move.  We’ll be settling in for a little bit longer, but Meg (or both of us depending on the calendar) is anxious for guests so let her know and she’d be glad to welcome you.  Soon we’ll have a get together to show everyone our suburban hospitality.  (For the record, it’s exactly the same as our urban hospitality, it’s just in a different location)

Pictures coming soon.  ps. with moving almost “done” I’ll be moving onto more wedding planning posts.

This weekend Meg and I (along with the help of some very generous friends) will move Meg into our new “Home” in Maple Grove.  (Once she’s moved in we’ll have posts about our new neighborhood and backyard and things like that.)

Because of this, for the past few weeks, Meg has been busy boxing up items in her current apartment.  She’s an excellent trooper, for moving is considerably more stressful for her than for me with my numerous moves in the past.  (17 total, some almost solo) As I recounted the moves I’ve made, I realized that perhaps a certain amount of my moving confidence comes from my experience at work.  In the first year I worked for Troupe America, I loaded and unloaded a 24ft truck over 30 times.  I drove a 24ft truck at least 4 or 5 times that year as well, and at least one of those trips was solo.  Needless to say at this point, moving isn’t that stressful for me.  I will admit that I do hate putting items in boxes, that’s my moving nemesis, but once the stuff is in boxes or totes, or ready to wrap in a blanket, I’m all ready to do the rest.

Moving puts things in perspective for people, and while Meg has been doing the bulk of the packing and boxing, I have been doing my fair share of evaluating and “purging” for while Meg believes she has a lot of “stuff” her amount seems a trifle compared to what I have.  My moving equipment has increased from my parents mini-van for my first move to college to my truck pulling a U-Haul trailer to a 24ft truck hauling my truck.  For those of you who don’t know me, I’ve been working and accumulating tools and materials in my work as a theatrical technician.  Unfortunately for me, since I left Troupe America, I haven’t had a place to keep all these things.  (by the seemingly endless generosity of my parents and grandmother, I have been cheaply separated from a number of these belongings.)  I also haven’t had to share space with someone.  Back to putting things in perspective.  I’ve been evaluating the amount of things I have and their place in my life and how those relations to my “things” has changed drastically.  I’m anxious to get everything in one place in Maple Grove, but I’m just as anxious to clear out the detritus of my past life experiences and start living leaner and more present in my shared home with Meg.

Contrary to popular belief, I haven’t “jumped the shark.”  I’m still around “making the magic.”  (sorry to use two cliches in less than 5 seconds) Just not as often.  It’s like I always say, leave em wanting more.  Ok I don’t say that, but I’m busy building anticipation here.

Stay tuned for a new post tonight.   Kevin

Grandma and Kevin sample beer

Kevin comes from good stock- his 90 year old grandma is smart as a whip- kind and funny to boot. This weekend, along with 40 other friends and family we celebrated Mary. I also got to spend some quality time Kevin’s parents and his brother Steven.

Meg: Hi Kevin
Kevin: Hi Meg
Meg: How are you coping with all the wedding craziness?
Kevin: Pretty well, but it’s entirely possible there is some ignorance involved with that answer. I mean, perhaps I don’t know how stressed out I should be… It’s a good thing we didn’t get a wedding planner to remind us how far behind we are.
Meg: What is your favorite part of wedding planning?
Kevin: Honestly, I like looking at wedding blogs and thinking about really cool things I could build/make to decorate. What’s been your favorite and least favorite part so far?
Meg: My favorite part is looking forward to the outcome- daydreaming about a beautiful day and married life. My least favorite part is trying to figure out logistics- I’m not good at the numbers stuff.
Kevin: I see, we do make a good combination then. Numbers don’t scare me at all.
Let’s change the topic for a sec. You’re about to move to a new home, what excites you the most and what scares you the most?
Meg: I am so excited about nesting with you. I want to have creative space for both of us. What scares me the most about living with you is your commute. Even though we’ll minimize it, I want it to be easier. I’ll keep you flush with mochas and audiobooks.
Kevin: It sounds like you’re less worried about the physical move, is that accurate?
Meg: Yes, I have been reassured that I will have ample assistance. I am not worried in the least.
Kevin: Good to hear.
Meg: What are you looking forward to in the new place?
Kevin: I’m looking forward to a shorter drive of course, and having room to get comfortable.
And I’m definitely looking forward to both of us cooking more.
Meg: Anything else we need to share with our readers?
Kevin: We should welcome a lot of them who haven’t been here before and warn them that we are insanely cute.

We’ve prepared some notes for out of town guests. Don’t miss the bottom part (about the weather).

I’ve been having trouble sitting down to write a post here.  It’s not an aversion to writing about Meg, or the wedding, or our relationship.  All of those things make me tremendously happy.  I think the problem exists because I’m always unsure what to write about.  Wondering what you, our audience, want to hear about.  Sometimes it’s very easy, something exciting happens and then I can write about it.  Lately lots of good things have happened but I haven’t felt like any of them merited a new blog post.  Perhaps I’m setting the bar too high.  I’m thinking that perhaps I should look at this as an exercise in blog writing.  Perhaps I can write small posts when things happen and hope that with practice they will become longer posts.  Will you stick with me through it?  I hope so.   In the mean time I’m going to recap the latest in the lives of Meg and Kevin. (in no particular order)

• Meg and I found a new home in Maple Grove and have a signed copy of the lease in our hands.  We will start moving Meg in August.  We’re both very excited about building a home together.  Once we’ve started to move in, expect lots of posts about decorating and housewarming party invites.
• Meg went to Chicago and picked out her dress (See the Previous Post.)  My thanks to Mary, Starr and Krista for taking such good care of my fiancee for the weekend.
• Meg and I received the postcards we are using for our Save the Dates.  They look very similar to the animated version shown earlier here.  We plan on finishing the guest list this weekend and mailing them soon.
• We’ve had more discussion about themes and decorating for the wedding and we’re both on the same page now, I think.
• We had a meeting at the church regarding the details of the wedding mass and we reserved an Accompanist for the wedding as well.

We’ve also had a lot of fun spending time with new and old friends.  We’re looking forward to a trip to Wisconsin to celebrate my grandmother’s 90th birthday and a couple of other fun weekend plans before summer is over and I get busier at work when school starts.

Ok, I realize that I haven’t quite matched up to the title of this post.  I normally write the title last, but I tried here to let the title inspire me.  When I started writing I was thinking that while I sometimes feel very reluctant to sit down and write a blog post, I have no problems or hesitations when it comes to loving Meg and/or looking forward to our future together.

I had a magical weekend. I flew to Chicago to say yes to my dress. Anyone who has watched the show is aware of the pressure and the hype of buying a wedding dress.  Women, young and old, from all kinds of backgrounds and ideals invest a lot of money and energy to this process whether purchasing a traditional dress or choosing something out of the ordinary. This isn’t just in the USA either. Look at this lovely photo of my cousin Michiel in Holland earlier this year. I love that he wore white and his bride wore a stunning black gown with white lace trim.

I wasn’t sure what to do. Did I want to be a Victorian bride in white or choose something else I loved. Luckily I had summoned some beautiful friends.

Starr, my girl Friday, who always comes through for me when I need, her most arrived on Friday- ready for battle. We talked late into both nights in my old bedroom (aka the Megseum).  She also let me drive her new car all over Chicagoland.

My childhood friend Krista has a laugh that feels like home and a memory that keeps us both in stitches. Krista is an accomplished professional, whip smart and so kind. She was ready to go on Saturday morning bright and early.

And of course, I couldn’t have gone without my  mother who is my touchstone. Note the Starbucks in hand and the J Crew t-shirt. She’s so cute!

We found the dress on our first stop. We went to our second appointment and team Meg was unanimously in favor of going back to Jenny Yoo.  When we returned to the Ohio Street store, the designer herself was there. Ms. Yoo was so gracious- she even took my measurements and picked the color for me. Want to know which one I picked? Feel free to add a comment or find me offline. I’m happy to share, but I don’t want to tempt Kevin.

Krista graciously called the other salons and canceled our appointments. We went to the Oyster Bar at Shaw’s Crab House on Halstead to celebrate.

Thank you ladies!!