Our First Anniversary

Today is my and Seth's first anniversary. A beautiful day marking the most wonderful decision in my life.

I started feeling a bit sick yesterday... what I call feeling "poisoned," but I've finally realized is just sinus pressure. That under-water feeling that messes with your brain a little ... I imagine that is what poisoning must feel like. Anyway, I thought I was just dehydrated and still recovering from our vacation to Vermont last week (best trip of my life). Seth got home from work around 9:00, and a little later we headed over to our friends' house to watch the end of the SuperBowl. Once there, I really started to feel worse, and by the time we got home around 11:30, I was miserable. Seth thought I should try the neti pot, which was an interesting experience. I don't know if it helped, but I fell asleep afterward.

I woke up around 3:45 AM, and then each hour after, feeling ickier and ickier and ultimately ... threw up. However, I am one of those people who thinks it's a great idea to just listen to your body and not fight that impulse. Whatever is in there, it wants out!

So - I was disappointed, thinking that this could potentially be the standard for the day. Originally, we were going to take our anniversary off of work to spend the day together, but after the vacation we thought holding on to that day for later in the year would be more wise.

So I laid there... sad but determined to not let it ruin the day I've been so excited for, and I rolled over to Seth and told him I was feeling bad. He turned and held me, and life was good. We slept a little longer, and then I woke, sick-feeling again. He prayed over me, asking Yahweh to give me a reprieve from this so that I could fully enjoy our anniversary. We slept a little longer. When it was really time to wake up for good, he had me lay my head in his lap, and he started massaging my face. My eyes, my temples, my nose, my forehead... it was so sweet that I could feel my eyes welling up. He noticed when he was massaging my eye and found a tear. He was immediately concerned, and I tried to convey how moving this little moment was ... his care for me, his gentleness, how we were having this private time, just us in the whole world it seemed. And it isn't how I thought our anniversary would begin.. me in pain, tired, hoping I could get through the day ... but it was the sweetest time. I felt so loved and safe and dear. I am blessed beyond measure.