Here is where I go into the great change in my life. I have not mentioned this before, but through church I have met some wonderful friends. Some have helped me through my discernment process, and others have helped me through life and to recognize who I really am. One such person is my lovely wife Ruth. I met her in early 2006 while at church and we kind of kicked it off from that point forward. She went to school in New Hampshire and then moved down to Pennsylvania for a while. I saw her occasionally over those next couple of years, but there were two times I can think of that we really hit it off and that maybe I had more feelings for her than I realized. There was one time where she and I went as advisors on a youth group trip that I started to get to know her more. I had that kind of butterfly in the stomach feeling everytime I was near her but not evaluating the situation at that time, I just looked at it as a really good friend. At Christmas time she was there and we typically sat near each other and kept getting the giggles while making fun of something. Here again, same feelings came over me but I never put two and two together then.
On Christmas Eve 2007 she was there and was singing with her Mom. About 30 minutes before they sang Ruth begged me to sing with her but I was not ready and declined. I made her an offer that over the next year we need to pick a song, practice, and I promised I would sing with her on Christmas Eve 2008. I can remember sitting against the wall in the back of the sanctuary talking to her and kept finding myself checking her out. She went back to Pennsylvania after the holidays and I stuck to my promise and starting looking for some songs. I found one that I really liked which was “Simple Gifts” done to the tune of Pachelbel’s Canon in D. It was a beautiful arrangement and easy enough for us to pull off with little practice. I did not hear much from her over the spring and summer, so I had pretty much given up on singing with her, but in September a change had happened that not only changed my life, but hers too.
She moved back to Maine and starting to go to school up here while working. Ruth was a lifeguard at the Y in Waterville where we take the boys to every weekend. When I saw her toward the end of September I had this weird feeling of happiness come over me and I got that butterfly in the stomach thing happening whenever I saw her. We talked for a bit that first time at the pool and she mentioned singing again. By the end of October we were pretty serious about doing this on Christmas Eve. We talked to the music director at the church and was able to get a hold of the sheet music. We practiced a couple of times for about a half an hour and then it seemed that we had to perform so quickly. During the practice time and other Sundays at church I would find myself looking at her, yes, checking her out but getting lost in her as I looked at her. On Christmas Eve when she walked in wearing black dress pants and a red satin shirt I realized that not only was she the most beautiful thing on this planet, but I had some feelings for her that I knew I shouldn’t but I could not control myself for much longer. We sang and it was so awesome!
So things really evolved at that point. We went to L.A. together for a week and had a blast and when we got back it was only a few short weeks that we moved in together in Augusta. Everything pointed to signs that we were definitely meant to be together. I proposed to her on Valentine's day and we booked our trip to Sandals in Negril Jamaica where we thought we'd get married. After reviewing all the legal stuff we decided to just elope on April 8, 2009.
That was actually a cute story. To elope, you need to have two witnesses. When we filed our marriage license we tried to get some people on that day but couldn't get anyone so we called Todd and Ron. Todd asked what they should wear and since the marriage took place in the print room at the Augusta city hall we weren't picky. Well...they showed up with their jackets zipped up all the way and when they found us they unzipped their jackets and they were wearing these pastel colored tuxedo shirts from like the 1970's. It was hilarious, and when the lady was ready to marry us she came out and said "and where is the happy couple", I couldn't resist and said which one? We went out to eat afterwards and I had to leave to go teach, but when I got back to our apartment Todd and Ron were still there. We visited for a couple of hours and it was a nice way to end our wedding day.
We also went to the Summer Solstice celebration in Rockland, the Blues Travellers concert in Freeport, the Blueberry Festival in Machais, and so much more. We are living life to its fullest and enjoying every second of it and enjoying eachother.
Over the 4th of July weekend we took a trip out to Ohio to visit my family. Ruth had never seen Ohio and her first comment about it was "wow...it's flat." My Mom and sisters planned a reception for us and we had a great time celebrating our marriage with my family. Ruth loves my family so much that I see us in the next year or so moving out there to be closer. On Augusta 22nd Ruth's parents had a reception for us in Maine and we had a nice turnout and had a blast on the dance floor. We have so many wonderful people in our lives.
We have many more weekends filled up throughout the fall with probably our last hike being Bigelow Mountain at the end of September for the fall foliage. We have a trip planned to Ohio for Thanksgiving and a trip in October to New England College for Ruth's homecoming weekend.
I am teaching two classes this semester and hope to start on my PhD in Information Technology specializing in Information Security and Assurance. My term end in October for the Outdoor Ministries Committee so I will be stepping down for a while but not leaving my special place called Pilgrim Lodge. I am on the Next Generation Committee for the Maine UCC Conference and will help decide the direction the conference takes with its three properties. As I said, there is no reason to be in Maine anymore for me, and Ruth is all for Ohio or western PA, so after our Jamaica trip in February '10 I will heavily search for jobs out there.
Oh yea, forgot to add that Ruth and I have become advisors for the Middle School Ministry and the State Youth Council. We went to beach day in July at Popham beach and will be going to fall convention at PL. The Middle School Ministry had its first event and that went well with approxiamtely 65 middlers having a good time.
I am so looking forward to the rest of the year and every year spent with my loving and beautiful wife Ruth.
Good by for now, I'll try to post sooner than 10 months.
