I would usually apologize for all the personal, wedding-y, gushy posts recently. But frankly, this blog has just become a place for me to write about whatever is on my mind. I learned quickly that writing about things I had no interest in, or about things I had no passion for, got old very quickly. So, with that in mind, I shifted my focus and started writing about me and what’s on my mind at that time whether it be personal, professional, wedding-y, and whatnot.

Back on track.

I’m getting married in 19 days. Whoaly moly I can’t believe it’s almost here.

This is something I have thought a lot about lately – but throughout the wedding-planning process, so many people have asked me, “How’s the wedding planning going?” “What’s next on the wedding planning list?” yada yada yada. And all that is fine and good, but no one has asked me, “How’s the preparation for marriage going?” “Have you guys done any premarital counseling?” “Are you ready for marriage?”

Yeah, the wedding planning is fun and all, but honestly, the thing that’s been most important to me  throughout this process is getting ready for our marriage. Yeah, the wedding is a huge celebration and amazing way to start our marriage. But the wedding is one day. Our marriage is a life time. Till death do us part. And that? Yeah, I’m ready for that.

Finances? We’ve talked about it.

Children? We’ve talked about them.

Communication? Check.

Putting Jesus at the center of our marriage? We’re ready.

So on and so forth. It’s been really important for us to talk about everything. There are no secrets. Nothing. We don’t know what marriage will bring us, what challenges we’ll face, and what we’ll need to work on, but we do know that Jesus, love, and a whole lot of laughter are at the center of it all. And in my humble opinion, if you’ve got those things covered, you can do anything.

I do have to say though, it all hit me this weekend when I moved out of my apartment. I’ve lived by myself in my little ol’ apartment in Carrboro, NC since I moved here in June of 2009. Seeing it all clean and empty (with HUGE thanks to my fiance for helping me… because I never could have done it on my own), it really sunk in that this is happening. That I’m becoming an adult. I mean, I’m already an adult, but when you’re married, I guess that makes you a real adult. But frankly, I’m okay with being an “adult” who is a kid at heart. You know, the kind of kid that eats Chipotle too often, drinks unhealthy amounts of Diet Coke, gets giggly and jumps on the bed when excited, could go to Chuck-E-Cheese every weekend and play Ski-Ball till she drops, and gets a huge kick out of feel-good Disney flicks. #NotAshamed.

John is okay with my shortcomings awesome qualities. I like love that about him.

And whoaly moly. We are becoming one in a short amount of time. And I’m going to live with a BOY. A stinky, messy, devastatingly handsome boy man. My best friend.

And I can’t wait.

It’s gonna be a stressful couple weeks… considering half of my stuff is at John’s, half of my stuff is in storage, and I have two suitcases and a car full of wedding craft stuff while I live with my dear friend Dani until the wedding. Dani and her hubs Keith are, like, WAY awesome for letting me shack up with them for a few weeks. So, yeah, I guess technically, I’m kinda homeless right now. Oh well. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel. And it’s a pretty flippin’ sweet light.

I, of course, had to take some pictures to remember my apartment by.

Bye D4, it’s been real.

That’s our self-portrait in my empty apartment. John wanted nothing to do with my nostalgia. One of the many reasons I love that man.

All for now.

xoxo,

Molly

Sunday, May 23rd, 2010. Monday, May 24th, 2010. These days, for me, will go down in infamy.

Now, don’t go judging me so quickly.

Yes, for the past SIX years I’ve been a devoted fan of LOST. And yes, for the past, close to TEN years, I’ve been a devoted fan of 24. And in the past 72 hours, both of those television shows have come to a close. To an end. Fin. Donezo. Peace out.

I’m not typically a huge television fan. The nerd in me loves to read and write, and frankly, I can get rather lazy when it comes to keeping up with the Joneses or Kardashians. But LOST and 24 have had my heart, soul, and dedication for close to a decade.

Sure, everything comes to an End, well, in the end. This chapter closes and another opens, why would I care? I knew the end was inevitable and/or nigh.

I’ll miss these shows because I “grew up” with them. Although I’d done the majority of my biological growing up when they started, these shows changed as I did over the last few years. Some of my greatest memories are spending time with some of the most important people in my life watching these shows together.

I’ve been out of college three full years now and I can’t even begin to tell you how much I miss it. And ironically, LOST and 24 were a HUGE part of that time. (I know, I know, three years isn’t that long. I’m young. Get over it.)

I remember the first time I watched 24 and LOST like I would remember any other major event in my life. I even remember on my anniversary with my college boyfriend, we went to WAL-MART and bought the first season of LOST and spent the next three days watching it together. And it was awesome!

I remember the Saturday marathons of 24 where my friends Matt, Nick, Erick, Ross, and I would start at 8AM and watch an entire season of 24 back to back for 18 straight hours. There was so much pizza, fun-dip, Diet Coke, and funny bits during those 18 hours. When the show would go to commercial and the clock would read 3:45:08, we’d have a competition to see who could guess what time the clock would read when the show would come back. I mean, it was an INTENSE competition.

Wednesday nights were always hopping in the “446 Suites.” LOST had a dedicated following of college students who would laugh, cry, and ask WHATTHEHECK? together.  The times spent in my apartment, Harrison 104, with the “safe zone” pining over the next episode. Oh, and Ethan was the creepiest character ever.

Those people that I spent time with watching 24 and LOST were my best friends, and I haven’t seen some of them since we graduated in 2007. And for some reason, in the last three days, I’ve been really nostalgic thinking about them. Wishing we were all together again to watch that chapter of our lives come to an end.

So, why would I ramble on and on about a couple of TELEVISION shows?

Because as they have changed, I have changed. I am not the same person that I was when they began. I’ve matured, I’ve grown, and I’ve transitioned. Just like them.

I’ve moved on. (Just like… well, I won’t say for those of you who HAVEN’T seen the finale of either…)

It’s okay to miss those days. It’s okay to miss those people. It’s good to know they were in your life for a reason.

Just like the characters of Jack Bauer and Jack Shephard were there… for THEIR reasons.

“There are no shortcuts. No do-overs. What happened, happened. Trust me. I know. All of this matters.” - Jack Shephard

It all matters. And it’s okay to miss it. As long as you don’t take what you’ve experienced, all of it, any of it, for granted. It’s okay to move on.

Word.