Get Gone

It seems strange, but this past Easter was the first opportunity my extended family had seen Ji since our engagement. Going in, I expected that everyone would wish their congratulations, see the ring, ask the same questions everyone (mostly everyone female) wants to hear. Obviously there was plenty to discuss, especially since one particular garment of interest was purchased just the day before.

I refer to said garment in such inconspicuous terms because it is TOP SECRET!

Bells! Whistles! Alarms! Hands over my ears LALALALALALA style.

I am to know nothing about this item. Not where it's from, how much it cost, what it looks like, what it's made of, what color it is, when will it be ready. For my guess, it could be a sequined fuschia number from Awesome Bride Depot.

I get the secrecy though. You want that wow factor. When the doors open and she's ready to walk down the aisle you want that impact, the emotion, the moment. I want that. So maybe I should have expected the reactions I garnered two days ago.

Overwhelmingly, the most popularly directed phrase directed at me was, "Go away."

So I would, knowing I had lost my partner to another tet-a-tet about an article of mystery clothing. Many times, wandering aimlessly between the buffet and the basketball, I found myself in conversational limbo enjoying a sneak preview of life with a future bride planning a wedding. You've never met anyone so famous.

You've also never met someone who has to listen to so many stories about the weddings of the people talking, weddings of their friends, cousins, neighbors, co-workers, cohorts, copilots, and coal miners.

Yes, It gets a tad tiresome to be told to get lost, but that's the easy part. I don't have to tell the same story over and over again. When they find out I am involved in the planning they are shocked. And I get credit for picking out a ring we found together. Not bad at all.

So future grooms, todays lesson is this: "It's not that they don't like you, they just like her more. Don't take it personal."

Enjoy the invisibility. Smile.