Our wedding is 8 days away. And so will end this amazing year of being a bride. Now, don't get me wrong, I am very excited to start being a wife. But I must admit there's been something very special about being a bride.
Back in February, I drafted a blog post that I never published. Here's what I wrote:
I work for one of the smartest women in business, Kelly Mooney. She's our president, our Chief Experience Officer, and also a really cool person and friend. Kelly has 7 sisters. Her family is the size of most focus groups!
A couple weeks ago, Kelly shared with me the opinion of one of her single sisters about engaged women. Here's the theory:
The engaged woman, the bride, has the highest ranking social status in our society. Everyone woos her for attention, dollars, admiration and advice. After she's married, everyone pays her less attention.
Kelly told me to see if I agreed with this theory as I moved through my engagement year. Well, now that I find it drawing to a close, I think I must agree with Kelly's sister. I have just enjoyed more than 12 months of being the center of attention and topic of conversation at many social gatherings and office whisperings. People walk by my desk and say, "How many days?" I've heard the word "Congratulations" at least 500 times. My appearance, my diet, my workouts, my clothing choices, my makeup purchases have been the topic of hours of obsessing and through it all, everyone says, "It's okay, you're the bride." Or, "Enjoy it, you're the bride." Or, "You deserve it, you're the bride."
Behavior has been excused on my bridal behalf: Distracted at work? Grumpy at home? Needy? Weepy? Over-excited? All is blessed away with, "You're the bride."
It's an amazingly special, protected feeling. Especially for a girl who thought, 13 months ago, that she wanted nothing to do with the fairy tale of the princess-y "bride."
I will miss this incredible glowing feeling of being surrounded by such a special force field. I will, of course, find a way to continue my blogging and my writing, and I will settle into my role as a wife. Life will slow down quite a bit, and while I will enjoy taking a break and a deep breath, I will always think of this year with amazing fondness and nostalgia.
Thank you, to all you readers and family and friends, for making this such a special year for me.
Comments