A Normal Holiday

       For the holidays Gabriel and I took a 12-day adventure up to Minnesota and back down to Tennessee. We attended the wedding of a dear friend, exchanged gifts with many people we love, drank coffee and got the stomach flu on Christmas day. The trip was long and over stimulating, but wonderful at the same time. One of our 15-hour drives turned into a 17-and-a-half-hour drive when we hit some unfortunate rush hour traffic in St. Louis. There were a few hormonal meltdowns as I officially entered my third trimester of pregnancy, but these were manageable and even expected. No surprises or new obstacles. It felt like we were a normal newly married couple visiting our families for our first Christmas together. Normal stresses and normal joys.

We spent a lot of time getting glammed-up for the wedding we were attending. We don’t dress up often (it’s a good day when I put on a bra and take off my robe). I put on a black, open backed dress I bought before I was pregnant but never got a chance to wear (thankfully it was spandex), and decided to brave the Minnesota ice on 4-inch heels. Gabriel looked dapper in a blue velvet blazer and H&M skinny cords, and he spent extra time in front of the mirror trimming and crafting his beard. Right before we left for the wedding Gabriel surprised me with an early Christmas present—a gorgeous, sparkling pair of snowflake inspired earrings and a fancy bracelet to match. He calls me his Snow Queen sometimes. I felt very glamorous and beautiful. 

On our way to the wedding we realized this was the first big event we were attending that wasn’t about us. When you get married and are having a baby there are many showers, parties and events centered around you. The dawning realization that we were going to this wedding merely to celebrate, witness and enjoy—was bliss to us. We wouldn’t be stared at or expected to speak. We weren’t required meet and greet everyone. It was the best Christmas gift we could have imagined. We were normal bystanders, supporting someone else making a monumental life decision. What a weight off our shoulders. It was so gloriously normal.