Spring has sprung!

Maybe. Earlier this week we had a couple of beautiful days, and after yesterday's awful cold wetness, the sun is out today and we've got the door to the shop open once again. I think it's safe to say spring has finally, partially, somewhat arrived in New England. Yay.

I emailed all the girls this weekend to introduce them to each other and start talking deets. I've only heard back from a couple of them so far, but talking about summer, possible dates for the engagement party, and all of that got me allllll excited for my favorite time of year. Every year around this time my life seems to spiral somewhat out of control, but when I look back, it always comes out all right, and my happiest memories are from those long, sun-filled, lazy, hazy days of Maine summer. I also love spring, because it means summer is coming, and Easter. It's always been one of my favorite holidays, both from a religious standpoint/background and the feeling that it's more officially spring once Easter is past, but most importantly, because it was my favorite, FAVORITE time of year at Sewanee. No where else in the world is Holy Week so amazing, in my humble opinion, and no where else has the spirit of the Resurrection and the coming of spring and summer, newness and life, been more alive in me than during my Easter semesters on that wonderful Mountain.

I feel like that last paragraph kind of jumped all over the place - from hey, I emailed my b-maids, to I love summer, to let's talk about Jesus and the Resurrection! ha! I'm a nut sometimes. I find myself off on tangents all the time. But I'm gonna go with the Easter thing here - even though that is not at all what I was planning on talking about when I started writing this post (2 days ago)!

One of my favorite (little silly favorite) things about Sewanee was how we called our semesters "Advent" and "Easter". I will be perfectly honest with you, I have not attended a church service - other than my cousin's wedding (does that count?) - since Christmas. I don't attend church regularly, and quite frankly haven't since I left Sewanee. I don't know why that is... (big fat lie) ...but here is neither the place nor the time to get into that. I do, however, continue to be, in many aspects, the same church nerd I always was, meaning, someone who relished all the silly little details (like calling semesters after holidays) that came along with attending an Episcopally affiliated university.

Back to the thing about Easter, and Holy Week, and newness and life. It's funny because my science-and-philosophy-only-no-organized-religious-please-and-thank-you oriented fiance has as much of a passion for this time of year and the whole spirit of it as I do - for basically all the same - but different - reasons. He actually wanted a spring wedding, for the symbolism. He told me he always envisioned a spring wedding, that it was such an meaningful time of year for him, and it seemed fitting to start a new life and celebrate marriage in the spring. Well, yes dear, I completely agree. Unfortunately, Mother Nature and Maine do not always cooperate in terms of representing our this vision of ours about spring with appropriate weather. Once we had both agreed on an outdoor/tented reception, it was easy for me to convince him that our best bet (weather-wise) was to pick a date in August or September. You just never know around here, but the odds are much better for getting a beautiful day September than in April (or March - even less likely!)

I love Easter, because it's like a big party, even bigger than Christmas. I feel like non-church people don't get this. Christmas really isn't the most important holiday. Okay, a baby is born. Whoop de doo. I mean, we think he was immaculately conceived and might be the Messiah - but the kid was born in a stable, with dirty animals, to a couple of really poor people, who were probably thinking what the heck did we get ourselves into?! Especially Joseph, because he was probably wondering "Did Mary lie to me? Was she sleeping around after all or is this really the Son of God? And I'M supposed to raise him?!" (You're probably beginning to get a sense of my religious sense of humor, thank you Dad, and I do apologize if it offends you, but I'm fairly certain God has the best sense of humor of all (hello have you seen the platypus?! hehe) and wants us to laugh and also be realistic and relate to religion in whatever way we find accessible.) So yes, Christmas, was a big deal, but really, it meant NOTHING until Easter happened. And by Easter, I mean, that little thing about Christ rising from the dead. That one thing, that one act of God, is everything to Christianity. Because without the Resurrection... what does it all mean? He turned water into wine, walked on water, healed the sick, blah blah blah. I mean honestly, I don't know, would you buy some stories about some miracles roughly 2,000 years ago, and just say yup, that probably was the Son of God? I mean, Mother Teresa did a whole lot of good in the world. 2,000 years from now, people might stretch the truth a bit, stories might evolve, I mean hey look at all the saints and their miracles. But Christ, and Christ alone, stands out for one reason. He was the Son of God. He was born without sin. He died at our hands. And then, because He was without sin, because He was God incarnate, He came back to life. He rose from the dead. He came back and was like hey, I died for you, and now you get to live forever too. Kinda gives me chills thinking about it. Because if it's true, it's pretty freaking awesome, isn't it?

So religious talk aside, Easter makes me feel like it's spring and it makes me feel happy. That feeling that everything will be new and alive, especially after a cold, dark, blah winter, is amazing. It's inspiring. Weather permitting, I feel like I always spend part if not a big chunk of the day (or weekend) outside, and just getting out there after being cooped up all winter is like a wake up call.... it's here!!!!!!! spring! summer! sunshine! happiness! Get out of your funk (and let me tell you, I've been in one this year) and get out there. Enjoy life, be happy, be joyful, be free. I find I almost always manage to get myself sunburned, even if just my cheeks or shoulders, at some point during the Easter festivities. It's not quite on purpose - it's just because it's my first time out, maybe it's not even all that warm, but I can't help but throw off the sweater, jacket, or scarf, and bask in the sun's glorious rays. Ahhhh, spring. Welcome. Welcome back.

Amidst all this happiness, I do always feel a sense of nostalgia, a longing to be back at Sewanee, to be "who I used to be," and to celebrate Holy Week the way it really ought to be. I wonder if it will ever be the same, or even close to what it used to be for me. Sometimes I do feel sad that the person I found to share my life with doesn't share quite the same convictions as I do, or have a desire to share that particular experience of existence with me. It's not that it can't still be me, be something that I do, believe in, and love on my own, but there is a part of me, that (not so secretly) wishes it were one of our together things. I wish he got excited about going to really pretty churches, like I do. I wish he got a little giddy at the thought of a service with incense, like I do. Or a really good sermon. I wish he thought it were just a little bit cool to memorize entire portions of the prayer book, and to have favorite collects and hymns, like I do. And to remember where you are not supposed to breathe during those hymns, like I, of course, do! But he doesn't. Oh well.

Anyway, I've lost sight of why I was writing, and have just been writing. The nice weather has me excited about a lot of things coming up including a trip down South for a Sewanee wedding I hope to take in June (not in Sewanee, but nearby in Chattanooga, so I'm hoping we might be able to drive up the Mountain so Johnny can finalllly see my alma mater!). Dani & Jay are a ton of fun and I'm sure it will be a beautiful wedding. My roommate from college, Holly, lived in Chattanooga for a couple years after graduation, so she's going to send me some recommendations of things to do and places to eat and such around Chatty. I'm hoping to cure Johnny's aversion to both the South and going to other people's (i.e. my friend's) weddings with this one. More importantly though, I can't wait to actually see some Sewanee people and some of my sorority sisters. I CANNOT believe it's been FOUR YEARS!!!! That's as long or longer than I even knew most of them! Ridiculous.

That about sums up this rather disjointed post on spring, Easter, religious ramblings, and other things, but on a completely separate note, I've been focusing on the white dress for my lust list/engagement party and I found this dress at Forever 21 online. I'm thinking it's cute but not too dressy. I don't buy a lot from there because we don't have one around here, and my experience shopping there before is the style and the fit of the clothes is a bit young for me and my body shape. So I kind of need to try things on. But the price is certainly right so I might just get it and if it doesn't work out, oh well! What do you think?

On a separate, separate note, here are some photos of the new Monique dresses I was drooling over the other day, and one Pronovias gown I found that I really like.

The End!