I have a very good excuse for my absence, dear readers, and I am at last ready to document it all.
I got engaged. And married. And I had my honeymoon. And I am reiterating everything you read in the title just to hammer in what a year it’s been. And it’s not even over yet.
Let me take a giant step back and whisk you to August 2023, two short months after I moved to Annapolis, Maryland’s maritime capitol home to the US Naval Academy. Some of my undergrad friends who I played on a co-ed college soccer team with invited me back on the field for an indoor fall adult league. It was here that I met Ethan Watson, my future husband (what a strange thought). A friendship blossomed on and off the field. We messaged eahcother inbetween the work week and he invited me to his church, Axis Annapolis, which just so happened to be a short walk away from my apartment. Thanks to our young adult bible study group meeting every other Wednesday night, more messaging, and bonding over sports, bluegrass music, and a similar sense of humor, we got to know each other even more. Ethan had to leave the area for a work contract lasting a few months in the spring, but one Sunday, I got a call from him that lasted around three hours. We talked and talked and just enjoyed the company found in each other. It was nice.
Fast-forward to August 2024, where he finally asked me out after I invited him to a Navy football game. Now press that button again and we’ll jump to February 1st. We went out for brunch on a sunny and cold Saturday morning in downtown Annapolis. Ethan took me to City Dock to look at the sailboats, one of our favorite things to do on a weekend. Before I knew what was happening, he led me to a corner of the dock and got down on one knee to ask me to marry him. Fast-forward to August of this year, when we got married in Havre De Grace by the Maryland-Pennsylvania border. Between meeting Ethan two Augusts ago, being asked out the previous August, and getting married in August of this year, I’d say this particular month is ours.
We had a sweet outdoor ceremony on a surprisingly comfortable summer day and regrouped in the venue’s massive pavilion for dinner, toasts, and dancing. My cathedral veil covered my shoulders and dress like a cape. Ethan’s simple light blue tie brought out his blue-gray eyes. My four bridesmaids, two sisters and two friends, wore various shades of the flowers I chose for the bouquets, and Ethan’s groomsmen had boutonnieres to match the color scheme. We had family and friends journey from Tennessee, New York, Georgia, California, and Florida to celebrate our union. It was a beautiful day.
Days later, we flew to Scotland for our honeymoon in honor of Ethan’s heritage but moreso because we just really wanted to visit. Ethan drove our rented car across the country’s stunning highland landscape. We traversed Edinburugh on foot, drank Scotch on a wildlife boat tour, stayed in several charming towns, and simply enjoyed the start of our new life together. And despite our short dating period and engagement, I wouldn’t have written the beginning of our story any other way.
I’m sure more will come on my new life with Ethan, but I’m going to take a break from blogging to focus on this wonderful change. It’s not something I ever saw coming, moving to a new town, joining a soccer team, and finding my husband in my fellow defenseman. But I’ve always been one for surprises.