.jackpot part 3.

Forgive me bloggers, but it has been a long freakin' time since my last blog. And this has happened several times over the course of my planning, forgive me and accept my apologies. Just when I think that life is settling down, something else happens. This is slated to be a JACKPOT blog, so on we go with that.... my excuses for not blogging will follow another day.

JACKPOT::

I feel as tho BOTH Mr. Nearlywed and I are hitting the JACKPOT on this one.... our parents! We both have amazing parents, which, after reading several wedding forums, makes us realize how lucky we are. While my path to approval by the in-laws wasn't always a yellow brick road, the point is, now, it is great! Yay. What makes this a JACKPOT blog is not that we are combining two cool families, but the roles models they have provided for our lives- especially in marriage.

This past July...my parents celebrated 38 years of happily ever after. While I am not so naive to know that not all 38 of those years were for better, richer and in health, I never knew if there were any worse, poorer or sickness issues. Well, ok, I knew if someone was in poor health, but you get it. Anytime there was something wrong or a disagreement to be had, it was kept from the kids. As I grew and became more wise and aware, I knew that not everything was roses but appreciated that my parents never fought opening and in front of the kids. Sure, there were disagreements but in all seriousness, I can't tell you when there was an all out battle. I've heard small town rumors....which just goes to show that either someone made something up or someone they trusted didn't keep their mouth shut, but I digress.

Maybe growing up, I didn't have a brand new car or the latest fashions, but I never had to want for anything we needed. I was always covered with my basics and then some. My parents were the cool parents, even though I wanted to disagree with that. My friends would hang at our house and they knew everyone and everyone knew them. Overall, both my sister and I turned our pretty well. And with them as role models for my life and my marriage, I am sure to succeed.

Before Mr. Nearlywed and I met, back in his single/dating days, his mother wanted him to find a "Catholic girl whose parents are still together." Can you imagine how difficult that is in Las Vegas?!? VERY difficult. It is hard enough to find someone who still has both parents happily married yet alone to find someone who is also Catholic. She promised him $1,000 if he ever did find that person. By the end of this blog, you will know the answer.

Mr. Nearlywed also comes from a solid family and two parents who stayed true to their vows and were together for all the days of their lives. While I don't know how many anniversaries they shared, I do know that once Flo's father's health took a turn for the worse, his mother was there, by dad's side every day. EVERY day. Not just here and there, but day in and day out. And that became one of the unwritten qualities in a woman for which Mr. Nearlywed searched. As someone who cried when they think of the words, "In sickness and in health..." this not only makes me happy to know that Mr. Nearlywed will be by my side just as I will be by his.

When I think back to other who I've dated.... I have to take it back to high school to find a boyfriend whose parents were still together. But at the age of 16, what do you really know about dating and life? When I think about how those relationships worked & ended, I look back on the issues that we had, it became clear that without that solid relationship role model, we were on different paths. Clearly different paths.

Now... I am NOT at all saying that if your parents are divorced you can't have a happy and healthy marriage/relationship.....but what I am saying is that having grown up in solid households, it helps us to put forth more effort and say our vows of marriage very seriously and looking up to my parents and future in-laws as role models. We won't let them down.

.maybe boys aren't whatever.

Since we were young little girls, we’ve always heard, “girls are forever and boys are whatever”. I am starting to think…in my 30s…that maybe this isn’t true. As the past two years of my life have flown on by, I noticed that many of my personal girlfriendships have changed some dramatically and some just barely. While I will stay away from specifics, I noticed that since Mr. Nearlywed and I began dating, all of the sudden, I no longer have much in common with some girlfriends. Some didn’t bother to get to get to know him and some did. But all of those relationships changed. As I plan a wedding to the man I love, I notice that it brings out unhappiness in others. Being in a relationship doesn’t make you tainted or less fun. I think that my relationship has enabled me to feel alive again and able to give energy to my girlfriendships.

Here is my theory on why some girlfriendships maybe not be forever. Think back to the boys we dated in high school….are we still friends with them? Sure, maybe you married your HS Sweetheart, or maybe you still keep in touch because you were so young the relationship is more like a long friendship than a short dating relationship. But, for me, it was a great up because it was broken and I didn’t invest any energy into those relationships beyond the day that they ended.

As someone who has had more girlfriendships than shoes, I noticed that, sometimes people grow, they change, and they set different goals. Once I started dating Mr. Nearlywed, my life goals changed. I met someone who shared my visions for life and was ready, willing and able to start working on those goals and visions together. I know that every girl who is in my life today may not always be in my life. But no matter what, they left a lasting impression on my heart. Would I like to purge my phone book and my Facebook page? Yes, sometimes.

After being missing from wedding blog posts, I share this one not to vent, but because as I watch the girlfriendships of others change, it can help you to realize that maybe girls are whatever.

.sunday jackpot.

Yes, I am a blog slacker. More on that later. Right now.... here is my latest blog on how I am hitting the wedding jackpot: My Fiance. Mr. Nearlywed.

Where does one gushing bride even begin? Welp, let's start with this:

We met in January 2008. When we met, it was three weeks post diabetes diagnosis. So sharing the news to him was like telling him that I like pizza, it just flowed. It was as new to me as it was to him so we basically have navigated my entire disease together. It wasn't until this year- and only by my crazy schedule- that he missed a doctor appt. He went through Diabetes education training with me, read the books, walked the walks, he did everything that one woman could hope to have in a partner.

About two weeks into our dating, I let him know that I will be a medical landmine until all of this gets figured out. And I gave him the chance to walk away from any potential relationship and we can just be friends, if that would even work out. I realized what a long load it would be to get back to healthy (another blog for another day) and didn't want to drag him down that road.

You could tell that he heard me but maybe it didn't hit him or maybe he didn't believe me. Mr. Nearlywed barely batted an eyelash and said that he will stick by me.

He now gives new meaning to, "In sickness and in health...."

Last year, at the Step Out to Fight Diabetes, he gave a speech. Here is what he said, get a tissue, I can wait....

"I stand before you here today, not as a type 1 or type 2 diabetic. But, this disease affects me just as much as it affects all of you. Years ago a co-anchor of mine said, "Tedd… you should support a cause. Fight for something!" I didn't even give it a second thought. I was too consumed with my job, my life and my success. But, All of that changed 8 months ago. I met a wonderful, beautiful young woman named Jennifer.

She's the love of my life, and 2 weeks into dating she was diagnosed as a diabetic. A diabetic at 30 years old, I thought to myself how is that possible? This young, vibrant, healthy woman was now facing a lifelong disease--I was crushed. I told myself I have 2 options. I could either NOT worry about it. Or, I could support her, be there for her, help her fight this fight-------I chose option 2. You see it doesn't matter if you're type 1, type 2 or type 3 like myself, the role of the caregiver. Every dollar counts. It's organizations like this that help bring us closer to a cure. There are medical breakthrough's everyday. I'm not asking for a thousand dollars, I'm not asking for 20 dollars or 2 dollars. All I ask is that you keep supporting organizations like the American Diabetes Association and other diabetes fundraisers.

There are 300,000 Las Vegans with the disease, and I bet there are some who don't even know it. Millions in the US are affected by the disease, we can't escape it. We can't turn our back to it, because I'm willing to bet you, or someone very close to you has the disease. I stand before you to ask for your continued support for causes and organizations and fundraisers like you see here today. Because it's your support and money that brings us closer to a cure, so that our loved ones, and my Jennifer can live a long, healthy, prosperous life right along side us.

I'm proud to be walking alongside all of you. I thank you for being here this morning, Jennifer thanks you, Channel 8 thanks you…… but most importantly thank yourselves for being here. God Bless."
~Speech at Step out: Fight Diabetes Fundraiser