Taking Out the Trash

You know how everyone has ideas about what a man should do around the house, and what a woman should do? Typically those ideas are grown from your parents ideas about what chores are proper for men, and what chores are proper for women. Like mowing the lawn, and taking out the trash is a mans job, doing the laundry, and cleaning the grout is a womans. That is what I grew up believing at least.

When I moved to Colorado a couple years ago to attend the New Life School of Worship I shared an apartment with two girls my age that also attended the school. I grew up living with six guys so there were things that I just never did around the house.

1. Mow the lawn
2. Take out the trash
3. Scoop the poop
4. Any kind of car maintenance
5. Any kind of yard work
etc.

Living with two girls (that came from families with lots of woman) was difficult in the respect that it was ingrained in me that I still should not have to take out the garbage (we didn't have grass, or yards, or shared vehicles, or animals or I'm sure we would have had more issues than trash).

It was crammed so far into my DNA that the thought of taking it out never actually entered my mind. It was something I never had to think about before. It would always magically disappear and a brand new empty bag would appear. Just like that. I was blessed.

So why am I sharing all this useless information with you? Because school was cancelled today and I've been working on my homework for the last two hours. Deciding it was high time for a break I ventured into the kitchen to find an overflowing trash can. Not only is it overflowing, the sight alone wouldn't have penetrated that deep, but the smell ranks about a 7 on the "worst smells I've ever smelled" list. All of these years of being blessed by brothers who know their place, and fights with roommates because I couldn't get over myself came flooding back to me. I raced back to our bedroom and my laptop knowing that I had to record this momentous occasion.

You guys... I'm going to take out the trash.

The embodiment of the dreaded chore itself.

I never knew it was so hard to pull a bag out of a plastic tub. 

Finally. 

I was on a roll.

Sitting safely outside where it will not bother anyones senses ever again... Except for Brady's when I make him take it out to the curb. Hey, Rome wasn't built in a day! 

P.S. You can click on the pictures to make them bigger! I just discovered this!

A few thoughts on weddings and engagements...

Brady and I said our vows on January 8, 2011, just seven short days after deciding that it was time to become husband and wife. There wasn't a 20,000 dollar wedding budget, a chapel, or a wedding party, but a desperate man, and a desperate woman ready to become one.

On January 1st Brady and I were in Oklahoma getting ready for his older brothers wedding. We were both in the wedding party and were due to arrive at the church earlier than the rest of the guests. We decided that we were not going to wait till May to get married on the drive to the church.

The rest of the day was a blur. His brothers wedding was beautiful but it was hard to focus when all I could think about was the decision we had both made. Being the impulsive person I am I wanted to run away and do it that day... or fly to Vegas and do it the next. Brady however is a little bit more organized, and methodical. We debated days, and places, and court rooms, and people. In the end we settled on January 8th, the first wedding date we picked out way back in August, and a small ceremony in my living room with parents, siblings, and grandparents.

Giving up the big wedding wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. There is something ingrained in us women, at a very young age, that reads "YOUR WEDDING IS GOING TO BE THE HAPPIEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE. START DREAMING, AND PLANNING NOW!" And from the beginning its not about love, or your groom, or God. It's about a day, and more importantly... it's all about you. I think that some woman get so wrapped up in fantasizing about "the day" that they forget to think about other, more important things.

I was through overlooking the 'other more important things.'

My wedding would only be the best day of my life for one day, and then the next day would be the best, and then the day after that, then the day after that, you see where I'm going with this. If your happiness is dependent on the day, or the gown, or the guest count, or the venue, you are not getting married for the right reasons.

We eliminated all the distractions, and it was easy.

We wanted to enjoy the spoils of being married, so we planned a wedding in six days.

We felt that pleasing the Lord was more important than pleasing societies view of what an engagement, and a wedding should look like.

If you are engaged, and planning a wedding, I think that six months is a ridiculous amount of time to wait. Why tempt temptation? There is something magical that happens when the man you love slides that 2,000 dollar insurance policy on your finger.. oops I mean engagement ring, and all of the sudden you just want to jump each others bones all the time, and it's name is "we're going to get married anyway!"

There's no shame in a short engagement. Like Debbie Morris says, "God doesn't only bless big weddings. Why wait till you're burning with lust?"

Our families were extremely gracious. They stood behind us, and though they were surprised they had no problem helping throw together a wedding in six days. Six days of craziness vs six months of stress. We lucked out.

Our wedding was everything we ever wanted. I swear by short engagements now.

I'm looking forward to having hundreds of best days with my best friend.

As for today... it's a snow day, and we slept in till 11. Brady is playing Call of Duty Black Ops, and I am hammering away on these keys and watching the snow turn to ice. It feels like the best today I've ever had.