the light was blue at seven am, and that peculiar hush that presages the first real winter storm shrouded the trees. the air is thick and gray and cold. snow and freezing rain are predicted for later, the kind of icy mix that keeps me home and snuggled between my two puppies under as many afghans as i can find.
two years ago this morning, almost half a world away, Beloved and i obtained our marriage license. no one at home knew we had decided to marry.
together for ten years, we had finally gained enough trust in ourselves, each other and the relationship itself to believe that it might withstand the weight of Forever.
and so, two years ago tomorrow, we went down to the beach at 8 am on a golden hawaiian morning, to a place where a freshwater river runs off a mountain and spills down into the ocean, and pledged our vows to each other before, as reverend koko said, Everyone.
at the point in the ceremony where reverend koko spoke of the two becoming one, a wave - the only wave to do so in the entire time we stood there - rolled like a blessing over our feet. i remember how the sand pulsed beneath my feet, how the light danced on the water.
the three of us wept, even koko, whose tears rolled like the waves over the lava ridges. our witness admitted she too teared up, our photographer sweat buckets. i remember how Beloved's hands wrapped around mine, i remember how i thought to myself, yes, this time you have it right.
i remember how amazed i was by the transcendence of it. i remember how dazzled i was by the grace and simplicity and sheer pure delight of how that whole day unfolded. after the ceremony was over, we walked back up the beach and had our breakfast and contemplated calling everyone back home to tell them the news.
by eleven, i was getting a massage. so what's on your plate for the rest of the day, the attendant at the desk inquired as i signed the slip.
well, i got married this morning, i said, and now i've had a massage. i think i've done enough for today.
i remember how the echo of her laughter followed me all the way down to the pool.
and furthermore, the war must end. blessed be.
4 comments:
What a beautiful way to exchange vows. If I ever get married again, it will be similar - small and outside.
I remember that. I seriously considered jetting off to Hawaii to surprise you! Did you know that? But it's a good thing I didn't, because the day after you married, I meandered onto Match here at home and saw a profile that interested me... and now I am envisioning what kind of wedding I want.
I am so happy that you are happy. Love is good. And you deserve it.
omg i think i would have died. you would've ended up singing amazing grace over my grave. what i did not include in the post is that fifteen minutes before we left hte room, i got a call from katie that jamie was practically suicidal about breaking up with his girlfriend and so before we went down to get married, i had coped wiht a kid-crisis that perhaps in retrospect seems a little silly, but when you are 6000miles away, any crisis with a kid seems serious. i dont think i could've dealt with any more surprises, even happy ones!
My fiancee and I are to be married by Rev. Koko this april. I googled him to see what others' experiences were like. Yours sounds very beautiful. Thank you.
Josiah
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