I haven’t blogged in a while so this post is definitely
overdue. I’m going to give myself
a break since school and wedding planning have consumed my life. Not to mention listening to nightly
baseball games and attempting to get back in to running. It seems like I constantly have
something to do, which is good because it has helped the time away from Steven
pass relatively painlessly. The
last two months have also brought the start of a new show, “Don’t be Tardy for
the Wedding”. Those of you who
know me know that I have few vices.
I don’t smoke or gamble, and rarely drink or curse, but Mt. Dew and the
“Housewives” tv shows get me every time.
Kim, the star of the show, is going over vows one day and
starts in on the “in sickness and health, richer or poorer” and stops because
she says she doesn’t like negativity in her vows. I get what she is saying; who wants to think about the bad
things that life might bring on such a happy day. The truth is though, life can bring some hard times and one
of the blessings on a marriage is that you will have a partner to help you
through. I mean, that is kind of
the point of those vows; letting the other person know that you will always be
there for them.
I know every life and marriage has the possibility of things
going wrong but I have to wonder how many people really believe any of it will
happen. Two of my friends got
married in the last year, both teachers.
Did either of them think about what would happen if he broke his leg and
was done working for the year? If
he got fired? If he was forced to
teach across the country? I doubt
it. Those things don’t happen in
most careers. I think instead
couples embrace marriage and accept that there could be a few bumps along the
way.
There are a few situations where the negativity in those
vows is especially important and a baseball marriage is one. I can guarantee there will be bad
calls, bad games, bad fans, bad road trips, and even bad teammates. There will be injury, minor or career
ending, and there will be trades, releases, and who knows what else. Baseball has provided us with some
situations that have been testing of us individually and as a couple and will
continue to do so.
The thing about the vows is though that once they are said,
there is no turning back. There is
no “the distance isn’t working” or “the measly minor league salary isn’t
enough”. You know getting in to it
that the negativity in those vows is a reality and you’re going to be there and
be his biggest fan anyway. There
are many people who will be around for the success and the good times, but I
think it’s important to say, up front, I’ll be there when you can’t get out of
the first inning, I’ll be there if you have a surgery and need a nurse, I’ll be
there if we spend our savings chasing the dream and end up broke. Of course I’ll be there for his MLB
debut, when he signs a big deal, and has a jersey retired, but I think we all
already know that. What we really
need to hear is the first part, the reassurance, that no matter what, we have
someone to turn to.
I have no idea when or where Steven and I will end up saying
“I do” but I do know that when the time comes he can count on me to say every
line.
