Summer and other beginnings

Wow, I need a break from that 3 day weekend...thank goodness I have another one coming up! The weekend was amazing, absolutely wonderful. First off, the weather here was heavenly, not too hot, not too cold, always sunny. Secondly, I spent the whole time with my lovely wife, can't go wrong there. And then, it was just jam packed with one great time after the other. I snuck out of work a bit early on Friday(completely supervisor sanctioned) and met up with Noreen downtown. On Saturday, we went to an outdoor concert put on in the name of Earth Day, which I think was a while ago, but whatever. A lot of good acts, plus a lot of good weather, plus free stuff equals great day! And Sunday, well Sunday was the race. That went about as well as I could have imagined. Perfect weather, great course, good field, and the body felt great. I actually ran it a hair faster(pace) than my ten miler the week before. And, I came in 109th out of about 3500. Noreen was there to watch, and greeted me with the biggest, welcoming smile after I finished that made me feel like a million bucks. We rounded the whole weekend out by cleaning the house and hanging out with friends. Of course the dogs were about as well, and they played to their hearts content outside. Oh, and the Red Sox swept the Rangers to go up over 10 games on the AL East. I mean, come on people, I don't know if I could have planned a better three days!

This weekend, we're off to Burlington, VT to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. Noreen and I are just going to take it easy and play it by ear. It's supposed to rain all weekend, which is ok since it rained for our wedding. It will just continue the good luck. It has been a hectic, but definitely satisfying year. We're in for another crazy one, and probably a few more to come. I think we've weathered it very well. It's kind of weird, on the one hand, I don't feel that different from when I wasn't married. Yet, on the other, I know that every step forward, every milestone, every decision is shared. It's kind of a knowing confidence, but living life, moment to moment, doesn't feel different. Hard to explain, I guess. In any case, I know for certain that I take great pride, confidence, and excietement in knowing that Noreen and I will be sharing our lives together, and every day is an affirmation of all that. I guess the change that has come over me after marriage, is an internal one. Sure, we had to do the bank thing, she changed all of her ID stuff, we did joint taxes, the whole wife/husband moniker, and people look at you differently, but I could have done that by dying my hair pink and moving to a new city. But, fundamentally, the immense change is inside me, I feel like a better, more complete person. That may not be true, but that's what it feels like. Ok, enough gushing.