M and I got married in October of 2002. Oct 10th to be precise. We drove to the courthouse in Fort Lauderdale to get hitched. I remember it was a weekday, the air was warm the sky was bright, a typical "fall" day in Florida. It was just the two of us when we got officially married, a random stranger was the official witness. We splurged and paid the extra $5 to get our picture taken.
We had a wedding ceremony December 15th 2002. It was a small ceremony, conducted in Spanish at a church in Margate FL. My aunt presided the ceremony. A few close friends showed up. One friend from the Marines was there (you know who you are, thank you) a few friends from the University were there. ( I had just completed the Fall Semester of '02, my fifth) M saw something in me and decided that I was her person. I wanted to live up to her expectations. I have fallen short of that, but I haven't stopped trying to be the person she deserves. I still remember her walking down the aisle and her hands were shaking when we were at the altar. I remember the kiss at the end and walking into the cool December air.
I don't want to say we are perfect, we are not. I want to say that I am lucky and that I am thankful for sharing my life with this woman. I am lucky and grateful that she made me a father, that she taught me how to be a good man.
December 15th 2002 was a cool day for South Florida standards. I don't know the precise temps all I know is that it was deliciously cool. After the wedding we went to Embassy Suites on 17th Street causeway, we were so tired we literally crashed and went to sleep right away, the reception took all our energy. The next day we drove to Orlando to Universal Studios FL for a one-day honeymoon.
Less than one month later I would be back in active duty as an infantry sergeant in the 124th Infantry Regiment as a member of the Florida Army National Guard. 3 months after my wedding my unit got deployed to go to Iraq. I saw my wife again Dec 15th 2003 for two weeks of leave, my deployment ended in March 2004 15 months total.
I like to think that we had 3 honeymoons, the first one was that one day after the wedding that we went to Orlando. A year later we saw each other when I was granted leave from Combat, we flew to NYC for a few days. The real honeymoon though, what I consider our real honeymoon was a couple of months after I came back from Iraq.
I don't remember exactly how the conversation went, but it must have gone like:
Me: "So I've never been to Epcot or MGM Studios"
M: "What?! no way, so you are telling me you have lived in Florida all this time and never been?"
Me: "that's correct"
M: "we need to fix that"
In the Spring of 2004 we went to every single Disney Park in the Orlando area. I think of that week as the real honeymoon, because our true life as a married couple started then.
Anyway, if you are reading this, thank you for reading. Just wanted to share what's on my mind today. I don't want to give the impression that everyday is easy or great. I just want to say that I feel very lucky to have met such a wonderful woman. M is the best thing that has happened to me.
-JV
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