welcome to our wedding!

Sometimes, you don’t know love until you back into their brand new, one week old Honda Civic at full speed. Justin was (is) a curmudgeonly old man whose sarcasm and wit could annoy even the most patient of people. Naturally, I’d assumed once I heard the blunt, crushing metal sound of the hood of his car becoming an accordion behind me, that his demeanor would shift instantly from that of excited show-goer to enraged bull, with an endless stream of profanities ready to be uncorked; however, this is not what happened. Whether by premonition or actually hearing the anxiety producing cacophony of car hitting car, Justin rushed outside of my parent’s Denver home where only moments before he was the picture of happiness, ready to make the four-hour drive to Atlanta to see Animal Collective with his best friend (now my brother-in-law), my sister, and me. Once outside, his face contorted. His hands raised to meet his furrowed brow. He circled the damage like a vulture, silent yet ominous. My seemingly endless barrage of apologies, excuses, accusations, and bargaining did little to elicit a verbal response from him. Finally, after an uncomfortably long period of time, at least in memory, Justin’s eyes met mine and he smiled. The next four hours were spent arguing about the correct pronunciation of song titles and albums, traffic laws, and I’m sure a million other meaningless road trip topics. When I think of this trip, I can feel the muscle memory in my cheeks. I am reminded of why I love Justin so much: he makes me smile. 2021 is our tenth year of knowing one another. I often say the tired line, “If you had told me when I was sixteen that I’d be marrying Justin Connor, I’d have said you were nuts”, but this is a lie. Truthfully, he has always had the kindest heart and spirit of anyone I’ve ever met. So, yeah, I’m pretty stoked we’re getting married!