Aspen

I don't know any other way to explain the connections that this blog and my wedding had than to share directly it's impact.  This is the "thank you" letter that I gave to each of my bridesmaids.

Over the past year, I had a lot of crazy and indecisive moments that I reached out to you on, on more than one occasion.  However, there were certain things that were an absolute no-brainer for this wedding… John, Ewan walking me down the isle, you, and an aspen leaf.  Out of all of the little gifts to you and all of the details in this wedding, the aspen leaf carries a true significance and purpose.  Trees represent life.  An aspen tree’s significance in nature is that it is one of the first plants to regrow after a natural disaster has destroyed the land.  The unfortunate part is that once the land has healed and recovered, the other plants, that were able to grow as a result of the nourishment that the aspen’s provided the land; they take over and often the aspen trees die out.  Five years ago when the life that I knew was destroyed, I turned to writing to help me recover, heal, and regrow.  Glimmering Through Aspen is what I titled my writing and it wasn’t until I was writing my vows to John that I realized the full extent the parallel between life and nature.  Since meeting John my writing has decreased and I very rarely visit it these days.  However, the words in my vows came directly from the raw and genuine thoughts from my recent past.  John fits seamlessly into my beliefs and that is how I know and have known for so long now that I have found my missing half with him.  Thank you so much for sharing in this special time in my life.  I couldn’t imagine doing it without you by my side.  And should you ever find a time in your life when you have to start anew and rebuild, I am proof that there is a deep and true happiness that can be found again, but also that it’s in the lonely, dark times that the happiness is reborn.  I’m not sure if this is the best “Thank You” note for a wedding, but it’s original, if nothing else.  :)

I hope my sister-in-law doesn't mind this close-up.
Each of my bridesmaids wore an aspen leaf necklace.

I carried my own.  

Yes that is my son walking me down the aisle.
And yes, it rained on my wedding day!

Can you guess what the next post will be?  ;)