Back to the story ...

And we were married!  Our wedding was beautiful, after the odd drama which I think everyone experiences.  The music system wouldnt work so hubby was sending groomsmen off hunting for CD players just 2 hours before the ceremony, the MC tells us he can't make it so we beg a very good friend who was attending to help out, and whew luckily he said ok; our celebrant totally ignored our schedule and was madly waving the bridesmaids to get started, and so the timing was all out and I ended up having to walk down the aisle after a way-too-long deathly silence lol - butttt the reception was the absolute best, quite honestly I had the best time I've ever had.  Once I got through the ceremony.  Have to admit I was in some kind of fog.  It really was just so unreal, I kept thinking it must be a dream.  But we'd planned the day, made all the arrangements, and here it was.  The big day.  And I'm thinking 'this just isn't real, cant be happening".  Kind of went through the motions.  Knew what I had to do, where I had to be.  And I walked down the aisle with what I think must have been the expression of a stunned mullet.  This was just too good to be true.  BUT, once I had that ring on my finger, once we'd signed our marriage certificate - it was like (and I swear there was a flash of lightning on an otherwise clear day) well it was like shazaam! and I was back in the real world, it was true, it had happened, I was the Mrs!!

Aah yes, it was good.  All was right with the world.

And we honeymooned.   Lovely island, beautiful people, five stars all the way.  Never mind the fact that it seemed the whole world knows my hubby and even though we "left the country", we kept running into people he knew.  Crazy.  Just when I thought I had him all to myself. 

And then we had to go back home.  Sad that the honeymoon was over, but overjoyed at the same time we arrived back home, had the usual conversations with everyone we'd left behind, lots of laughs and good times.

Then we took a bottle of wine, our thank you cards and pens and climbed into bed to go through all the cards we'd received.  We'd asked for cash rather than gifts as we both already had a home full of the usual household items.

Slowly it dawned on us that something wasnt right.
Most of the cards had been re-sealed in one way or another.  That's strange, but we didnt give it a lot of thought.  But card after card was empty.  Now we didnt expect anyone to give us hundreds or thousands of dollars.  But you'd think our friends would have given us something.  A couple of cards had 10 or 20 dollars, and I think from around 80 guests we ended up with not much more than $60.  Oh well.  Lovely cards.  I think at first we just didnt want to believe the obvious.  We'd left family and friends to look after our home while we honeymooned.  And we'd left the cards, untouched, to go through when we returned.  Thought it would be something lovely to share, opening our cards and writing our thank yous.  But no.  Instead we were shattered.  One of our family or friends, or maybe one of their visitors had ravaged our wedding gifts.  Had to ask a friend, and it was horrible having to do, but maybe no-one had really given us anything?  It was possible we supposed.  So tentatively we fumbled about and asked a friend, and we explained why we were asking, whether they'd put anything in with their card.  Yes, $200 and they told us what others in their family had given as well.  Close to a thousand just from their family.  They were horrified of course, how could anyone do that?!  I cried.  Not because of the money, because of the fact that people we loved, who'd given so generously and wished us so well, had been robbed.  All our family and friends, some elderly, robbed.  And I hadnt the heart to tell them.  I still havent.  So we acted happy.  Pretended all was well.  Only a few know that we were robbed.  And we know who did it, took a while, but we know.  Can't do anything about it, called the Police but they couldnt do anything, too hard to prove they said.  But they had their opinion on the identity of the culprit.  And they were right.  Sad.  But we put it behind us, it was only money, we were married and we'd had a beautiful wedding, our friends and family were and are so happy for us, and that is a glorious thing to know.

Aah on the whole it just doesnt matter.  We are happily married, nothing can change what we have.  And that is love.  And the miracle that we even stumbled across each other in the first place.  Takes a lot of living to learn that kind of thing, to look at the 'whole' rather than its pieces.  So we rejoice in our happiness, and let things go that are outside of that.  We are simply grateful for what we do have, and it is a LOT.  Money may have been stolen but money doesn't bring happiness and we know in this case it certainly didnt.  And in its way, that is sad too.

All for now, catch you next time ...