Wedding Week/Part 1
Not mine, of course.
I say with a great sense of accomplishment that I survived a week of wedding festivities. After my 12-miler last week, I cleaned up and packed the car to drive East for a little wedding planning with my very first best friend. :) Being that my family moved from central Pennsylvania the month before I turned 13, I was equal parts surprised and honored that she asked me to be part of the bridal party. She has also worked very hard to be accommodating to my schedule (since I'm the out-of-town bridesmaid) and for that I am grateful. It was a nice trip, although I was shocked to find that there are a limited number of Starbucks on the route. The last one I encountered was in State College and I bypassed it completely, as it is not readily accessible from the highway. An hour down the road, I realized my error and shook my fist in quasi-rage. Merging onto I-80 East, I thought for sure I'd find some sort of caffeinated goodness. I mean, this is the road that runs West into the sunset. This is the road famous (or infamous) for being overloaded with trucks, afflicted with blinding snowstorms, and sporting hours of monotonous scenery through the farms of the Midwest. Though...now that I've put that out there, I'm suddenly realizing why there are no readily available Starbucks on I-80.
Darkness had long since fallen as I passed signs for locations familiar to my childhood. Williamsport. Lewisburg. Bucknell University. A sense of peaceful nostalgia put a soft smile on my face. I don't know if the times spent in those places were that good or if the memories had turned all good with the passing of time; but it felt good to be back. After a bowl of macaroni and cheese accompanied by good conversation, it was off to bed. In the morning, my friend drove me around her new town, about 45 minutes from where we grew up. By the time we returned from the town tour, other members of the wedding party had arrived and it was time to start the party! The mother of the bride joined us and we made the trek to Wilkes-Barre (where I finally saw a Starbucks) to try on dresses. It was a pretty laid back day. I found two styles that I liked; the bride really liked the one I'm leaning toward, but given my training schedule I am hesitant to buy anything until January/February because I am not sure how my body will change. I am also slightly concerned about overheating. I'm always hot (like temperature hot) and imagine that standing for the ceremony in the August heat and humidity will be hot anyway. But more on that in January/February. The bride isn't stressing over it, so I won't either. As long as it's ankle-length and "apple" red, we'll all live happily ever after. Once done trying on gowns and sashaying around the fitting area, we reloaded into the cars and headed back to Bloom for dinner. My friend is an amazing cook and treated us all to homemade wedding soup as well as homemade cheesecake. For someone who thinks hard-boiling an egg is a culinary feat, the made-from-scratch offerings were more soul food than anything else. It was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with old friends and get to know the rest of the girls. It was a quick trip and I was sad to go, but thankfully I knew where to find the Starbucks on the drive home...
Knowing I had a long and yet short week ahead of me, I tried to stay focused at work while prepping to head to Chicago for Part 2 of "Wedding Week." One of the girls I lived with in DC was getting married. I had a plane ticket, a dress, cute shoes, but cold feet. What sounded like an adventure three months earlier I was suddenly dreading. Nevermind that I'd also get to see one of my other DC roomies; I had hit total panic mode. I was worried my dress would be too short. I was worried because I wouldn't know anybody there. I was worried because I wasn't sure where exactly I was staying. I was worried because I wasn't sure how I'd be getting from the airport to where I was staying. And I don't know when worry entered my brain's vocabulary. I'm action oriented. I like adventure. When I used to hear about people who worried, I'd pity them for not living life. I'm not sure when I let anxiety become a factor in my life and some days it can be a real battle to kick it in the face.
But my Thursday night flight was still a few days away, and I am training for a marathon. Training cannot stop because of "Wedding Week." I had a great midweek run, hitting an 8:30 mile for the first time in a long while. My yoga class was great, my lifting sessions rocked. It was an awesome training week. And then I woke up Thursday. I still had to pack. My dress was potentially too short. But I knew if I could just hold the anxiety at bay and get to Chicago, things would be fine.
I knew that once I was wheels down in the big city, it would be an epic weekend.
More on that next time.
I say with a great sense of accomplishment that I survived a week of wedding festivities. After my 12-miler last week, I cleaned up and packed the car to drive East for a little wedding planning with my very first best friend. :) Being that my family moved from central Pennsylvania the month before I turned 13, I was equal parts surprised and honored that she asked me to be part of the bridal party. She has also worked very hard to be accommodating to my schedule (since I'm the out-of-town bridesmaid) and for that I am grateful. It was a nice trip, although I was shocked to find that there are a limited number of Starbucks on the route. The last one I encountered was in State College and I bypassed it completely, as it is not readily accessible from the highway. An hour down the road, I realized my error and shook my fist in quasi-rage. Merging onto I-80 East, I thought for sure I'd find some sort of caffeinated goodness. I mean, this is the road that runs West into the sunset. This is the road famous (or infamous) for being overloaded with trucks, afflicted with blinding snowstorms, and sporting hours of monotonous scenery through the farms of the Midwest. Though...now that I've put that out there, I'm suddenly realizing why there are no readily available Starbucks on I-80.
Darkness had long since fallen as I passed signs for locations familiar to my childhood. Williamsport. Lewisburg. Bucknell University. A sense of peaceful nostalgia put a soft smile on my face. I don't know if the times spent in those places were that good or if the memories had turned all good with the passing of time; but it felt good to be back. After a bowl of macaroni and cheese accompanied by good conversation, it was off to bed. In the morning, my friend drove me around her new town, about 45 minutes from where we grew up. By the time we returned from the town tour, other members of the wedding party had arrived and it was time to start the party! The mother of the bride joined us and we made the trek to Wilkes-Barre (where I finally saw a Starbucks) to try on dresses. It was a pretty laid back day. I found two styles that I liked; the bride really liked the one I'm leaning toward, but given my training schedule I am hesitant to buy anything until January/February because I am not sure how my body will change. I am also slightly concerned about overheating. I'm always hot (like temperature hot) and imagine that standing for the ceremony in the August heat and humidity will be hot anyway. But more on that in January/February. The bride isn't stressing over it, so I won't either. As long as it's ankle-length and "apple" red, we'll all live happily ever after. Once done trying on gowns and sashaying around the fitting area, we reloaded into the cars and headed back to Bloom for dinner. My friend is an amazing cook and treated us all to homemade wedding soup as well as homemade cheesecake. For someone who thinks hard-boiling an egg is a culinary feat, the made-from-scratch offerings were more soul food than anything else. It was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with old friends and get to know the rest of the girls. It was a quick trip and I was sad to go, but thankfully I knew where to find the Starbucks on the drive home...
Knowing I had a long and yet short week ahead of me, I tried to stay focused at work while prepping to head to Chicago for Part 2 of "Wedding Week." One of the girls I lived with in DC was getting married. I had a plane ticket, a dress, cute shoes, but cold feet. What sounded like an adventure three months earlier I was suddenly dreading. Nevermind that I'd also get to see one of my other DC roomies; I had hit total panic mode. I was worried my dress would be too short. I was worried because I wouldn't know anybody there. I was worried because I wasn't sure where exactly I was staying. I was worried because I wasn't sure how I'd be getting from the airport to where I was staying. And I don't know when worry entered my brain's vocabulary. I'm action oriented. I like adventure. When I used to hear about people who worried, I'd pity them for not living life. I'm not sure when I let anxiety become a factor in my life and some days it can be a real battle to kick it in the face.
But my Thursday night flight was still a few days away, and I am training for a marathon. Training cannot stop because of "Wedding Week." I had a great midweek run, hitting an 8:30 mile for the first time in a long while. My yoga class was great, my lifting sessions rocked. It was an awesome training week. And then I woke up Thursday. I still had to pack. My dress was potentially too short. But I knew if I could just hold the anxiety at bay and get to Chicago, things would be fine.
I knew that once I was wheels down in the big city, it would be an epic weekend.
More on that next time.
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