Walking & Wedding

I am really enjoying the walks Matt and I take 3-4 times a week. We've always been talky-talkersons, but I talk more than Matt most of the time. Well, this week, I've decided to practice listening (I read a horoscope on Monday that told me I would hear something important this week, if only I could stop talking and start listening -- usually I dismiss horoscopes, but this is good advice all the time). So I've been listening to Matt all week, and I've learned a lot. Mainly, I learned that I love him more now than the day we were married. He's so much more thoughtful than I give him credit for. I think we may often allow those stereotypes of men (and women) to get in the way of really getting to know our better halves. So, thanks to whoever wrote my fortune-cookie-like horoscope this week.

Speaking of weddings, I tried on my wedding gown last night. It's a summer ritual usually, to see if I can fit in it. Normally, I can't come close. But LOOK!


Ok, this was a hilarious scene. Matt had to zip me up in it and kept yelling, "Suck it in!" I kept yelling back, "I can't!" Finally, we realized the only way to get it on was for me to raise my arms. But then I couldn't put them back down. So I walked all over the house, saying, I can get in my wedding dress! With my arms flapping like I was trying to fly away. Finally, because I could no longer breathe, Matt had to peel it off. And as you can see, I'm literally spilling out of the top of it, but HEY! I got in the damn thing for the first time in 4 years! Yay! This really motivates me for my swimsuit challenge this summer.

So walking is doubly awesome. I get a little more fit, and I get a little more insight into this guy I've known for over 12 years.

Yep, 12 years. Our first kiss was on May 20, 1996. We first met a year before that. And like I said, it seems if I let my expectations of who I've determined he is to slip away a bit, I realize so much more about him. I guess that's probably true of everyone. In fact, I spoke to my mom yesterday (spoke to my mom usually means, kind of listened while she talked of random, vague things). But then, I remembered my horoscope, so I listened a bit more than usual this time. I learned a lot. Mainly I learned that we can never fully know another person's perspective. We may blame, question, criticize, but there's always something we don't know that could explain it all. So I'm revising my horoscope a bit:

Listen more. Blame less. Assume less. Expect surprises. Remember that breathing is less important than big, pretty dresses if only for a minute.