Our wedding day was fantastic. Aside from a personality clash with the chapel's wedding coordinator, which may be a post for another time, everything went off without a hitch. We began on time. The kids each performed their roles flawlessly. During our ring exchange, we spoke a few words to each other, and OaG's comments were something I will cherish forever.
At the reception, the cake was made just like I asked it to be. The beef and chicken were tasty. Mingling with friends and family was great. All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better experience.
When the reception had wound down, our friends loving decorated the car with white roses from the tables and we were off to our first honeymoon stop, a bed and breakfast in Weston, MO.
We arrived still dressed from the wedding; with me in my gown and veil and OaG in his Mess Dress complete with cavalry Stetson and spurs. The inn manager took us on a tour of the house, which was a little tricky with all that extra fabric I was carrying around on 19th century staircases. We saw the game room, the room where we'd be served breakfast the next morning and the refrigerator where our sparkling cider and romance platters would be when we chose to retrieve them.
And finally, we were left to ourselves in our well-adorned and ridiculously comfortable room. One of the first things we did was change out of the wedding attire and I attempted to get a brush through my hair as well as brush my teeth. Enter the dilemma.
I pulled out my toothbrush and immediately remembered that I had no toothpaste. My tube ran out in the couple days before the wedding and I had been sharing with my mom in our hotel room. I was hoping to just emerge from the bathroom and freshened up on my own, but had to humble myself enough to ask, "Hey, OaG? Can I borrow some toothpaste?"
This was, of course, not a problem. He gladly shared. Then he came in to brush his teeth. He discovered he had forgotten his toothbrush.
He looked over at me. I knew he had just shared with me, when I had forgotten something. It was a minor rescue of sorts from my own forgetfulness. But, a toothbrush is completely different from toothpaste. My mind was racing with all of my microbiology and principles of disease prevention my nursing education had equipped me with. I've never shared a toothbrush with anyone.
I couldn't leave him hanging, and I did, naturally, WANT him to brush his teeth. So, I acquiesced and shared my toothbrush.
It may seem like a non-issue to you, but it was a huge lesson to me. This was my new life. We were just a couple hours into our marriage, and already, I had been taught that partners have different resources and talents, and sometimes the ones that the other lacks. But, when you're together, two really is stronger than one. Not to get too Jerry McGuire on you, but we had completed each other. Sharing all of me is not something I had done, but it was something I now needed to do.
There you have it. The parable of the toothbrush. A good beginning to a marriage.
And, in case you're wondering, the sharing of my toothbrush was temporary while on the honeymoon. We're back to using our own.
