Young and In Love

It was an ego boosting, feel-good night. First I went to get my hair cut after work 'cause it's been since March.  Now some hair I had on my head in Hawaii is on the cutting room floor - *sigh.* Since I skipped the blow dry it was just $13 which I was psyched about. I really had no idea how it was going to come out, but looked okay wet and had to be better than what I walked in with. I learned a few years ago that asking for the "Rachel" would get me pretty good results. My hair stylists keep leaving, but no matter who I go to they seem to have a good grasp on that with some variations.

Next I hopped in my car and headed to kayak racing where I set a new PR! My best time yet. Someone asked me if I was a serious racer before I put in. I said I don't know about that, but I seriously try. My time was 23:88 minutes with a 5.02 mph pace which is fantastic for me. I could have gone faster, too so that was satisfying knowing there was still room for improvement. It was also gratifying because I have become steadily slower all summer due to conditions and me just sucking. One woman beat me tonight by .76. Grrr. Still I won a glass from the race series' beer sponsor and a bumper sticker from the kayak place. Besides sips here and there to see if I still hate it, I have only drunk a half can of beer in my life, but it's a nice glass. It'll get filled with milk at dinner time.

I stood chit chatting with everyone after and mentioned by husband, which then sparked conversation about my age 'cause they thought I was just a kid. I got 14, 22 and 17 thrown out there so that was fun. I know it won't last forever, so this thirty-four-year-old will bask in those "you look like a teenager" comments for as long as they do. I think it's more staggering when they hear my husband and I just celebrated our sweet 16 anniversary. The secret I told them: no kids!

Speaking of marriage, my co-worker is tying the knot soon and I just got her invitation. First they are just beautiful; completely designed and hand "die-cut" by her. My favorite part though is a quote inside:

"You don't marry one person; you marry three:

the person you think they are,

the person they are, and

the person they are going to become

as a result of being married to you."

- Richard Needham

That is the truest, sweetest description of marriage I've ever heard. If you are lucky, your spouse makes you a better person just because you want to be better for them and allows you to become all the things you want to be in your own right. (After all they fell in love with you because you were a separate and interesting person.) And of course they love you for who you are even when it's not pretty. If I never win the lottery, I still feel like the luckiest person I know.