By now, everyone should know one of the messages of the musical Wicked - how one person can change another for good. For me, though, I have been fortunate because I have had more than one person who's changed my own existence. From high school to college to my working in Boston and beyond - there are so many I could say because I knew you, I have been changed for good. There is at least one person from every phase of my life who is still with me and I'd like to think that both of us have changed each other for the better. Yet, despite being surrounded by so many, as I got older, I was resigned to being single. I played the bitter card so well that at times, I  resigned myself to the truth that I was the person I projected to the world. Never did I imagine that I would meet someone who really would shift the existence of my time on this planet.

Last year, as I looked out at the people gathered to witness John and I getting married, I was overcome with so much emotion that I barely could meet their gaze. The night before, at our cocktail reception, there was so much joy, so much laughter and I was crazy busy introducing my old friends to my new that I forgot to breath in the moment. The night was filled with the unbelievable belief that what was happening WAS happening. The next afternoon, to look out at the front row and see my brother knowing that the two of us were missing the one person who should have been there was bittersweet. Our mom was our greatest champion, our most dedicated supporter and she would have loved every second of that ceremony.

Remembering that day can sometimes resemble an over-developed blur of images. From our wedding day breakfast at the St. Anthony hotel to getting dressed, the drive to the venue and waiting for our guests at the clubhouse, it was one surreal moment after another. The one regret I have is that our photographer walked into the reception before us and captured no photos of the moment when we heard the applause and cries of congratulations echoing over the patio. Yet, it is a sound I will never forget as I held my now husband's hand. There was so much happiness, such an outpouring of love that it was almost too much to handle. And, before the madness really started and I could get my hands on our signature Limontella cocktail, John took me inside the dining room and told me to look around. The tables were perfectly set, The centerpieces we had debated over were a perfect fit on the tables and it all looked...well...perfect. This is our wedding reception, I thought. I let that sink in and then we were off for a day that made me feel that all was right with the world. Look at the friends I have, I thought. Look at the world I have created. Look at the man with whom I'm going to spend the rest of my life.

I suppose it all didn't feel real until early summer when we were finally able to set out on our Paris Honeymoon. Everything about those two weeks was inexplicably incredible. Every person we met was so full of joy for us when we told them we were celebrating our honeymoon. Meeting up with an old friend, having cocktails and dinner with a friend who was at our wedding (!) and just the sheer fact that I was with someone I loved in a city I loved was the most surreal experience. I had walked these streets with my mom, shown her all these sites. I tasted the city's cuisine and drank its wine with her. Now, I was on my honeymoon. If I weren't so exhausted by the sheer amount of walking that we did each day, that thought would have kept me up at night. Not only did my getting married change me, but that trip to Paris reinforced that my life had inexplicably been changed for good.

It's funny - my "when are we getting married" question to John in October of 2023 was more of a statement. October 13, 2024  was all this was leading up to all along, wasn't it? For me to leave California for Texas was no small decision and I don't think there was any doubt in either of our minds that this was the path we were on when the moving van pulled up to San Antonio that January. California has brought me such joy. So many wonderful memories that I could never encompass them all in one short post. But the experiences of San Francisco, Los Angeles and Palm Springs led me here, and for that alone, the great Golden state will always be special to me.

Now, as we get ready to celebrate our one - year anniversary, we are in the final stages of a massive home remodel. Our new HVAC system is still in the midst of its install, and as the Texas summer won't leave just because the calendar says its fall, I am longing for the winters of Boston (but just temporarily, though I would kill for a 40 degree afternoon right now). The house I moved into that January of 2023 is not the same house you'll find today. The dark mahogany antique pieces that sat on uneven dark tile floors that led  to the brown wood cabinets of the kitchen have all been replaced. There are Parisian cabinet pulls to remind us of a trip that was more than just a culmination of the "I dos" we repeated to each other last year  And, there is one big slice of wedding cake in the brand new freezer that will be defrosted in two short weeks. That is, if I survive the last phases of this endless home renovation. But like me since John walked out of his Uber on March 6, 2022, this house, and life overall, has been changed for good.