Ten years ago

(This post is a little sappy. You've been warned.)

Ten years ago, my dearest childhood friend got married.

Their wedding came at a really hard time for me, however. (Yes, it is all about me. At least here at this blog it is.) Bradley and I had just stopped dating, and I was--not to put too fine a point on it--heartbroken. I was truly, madly, deeply in love with him, and all of a sudden it was over.

I felt like a failure that night at the wedding reception. As I stood at the entrance to the reception, helping with gifts and the reception book, I met up with old teachers, friends, and church members. And at least half of them said to me, "So, Kristy's married! Isn't that great! So, what about you?"

Ouch.

Now, I know that they didn't mean it the way it sounded to me. They weren't so much asking "When are YOU getting married?" as they were genuinely interested in what was happening in my life. But, all of my accomplishments--graduating with my bachelors degree, presenting original research at a professional meeting, acceptance to graduate school in the fall--seemed worthless to me right then. The thing I wanted most--to get married to Bradley--was never going to happen.

Never say never. Part of me wants to go back to that heartbroken 22-year-old girl and tell her that it was going to happen, that it was going to be even better than she could ever possibly imagine, that her life was going to be absolutely marvelous.

But part of me knows that some of the sweetness of our engagement 26 months later came from the surprise, the sheer unlikelihood of our reunion. I think that pain and unhappiness following our breakup has made me appreciate, even now, the wonder and joy that is my life.

So, happy anniversary, Kristy and Cody. And happy anniversary to me, too.