It's my anniversary! And I'm doing my best...
I finally married the love of my life last year, November 13, 2023.
We had been together for over a decade, and after I lost my father and took care of setting up my mom with social security to receive his benefits, I realized how important it is to take the leap into traditional marriage.
Neither of us were concerned with the formality of marriage, it's just a legal document, and we always joked that if we ever tied the knot, we'd run off to Vegas and get married by Elvis. So one night about two years ago, I turned to my SO and said that I thought we should get get legally married. And I thought we'd just run off to City Hall to elope and make no big fuss about it. But he said yes. And if we're going to do it, let's do it right. And let's do what we always joked about, let's go to Vegas and live large.
So we did. We picked the date. 11/13/23. I wanted the date to be comprised of prime numbers, and we both wanted to have anniversaries fall on Friday the 13th every once in a while for kicks. It was the best week of my life!
We invited no one, didn't even tell our families. We went and danced and sang, celebrated ourselves and had the most amazing time.
Then a mere month later, my symptoms kicked in full force. Here I am, having the time of my life and feeling on top of the world. Excelling at my job, just received the raise that allowed us to be self sufficient, just married, so happy. And standing in the kitchen preparing something for dinner, it suddenly felt like something pulled the floor out from under me. I took a hard fall. When I got back to my feet, I felt this vertigo in my body that has persisted every day since. I feel like I'm on a boat at sea in choppy waters.
And the other symptoms developed or got worse. The tremors, the tingles, the numbness, the electric shocks, the imbalance, the twitches, the spasms and spasticity, the vision disturbances, et al.
It's been a rough year, but it's still been a great year. I've got a neurologist who doesn't believe me and doesn't seem to care, no diagnosis and no path forward yet. But I have this. I have this beautiful community to turn to, and I have my amazing husband who supports me and loves me.
We celebrated today with me taking the day off work and going to our favorite Asian market for ban mih lunch and a little shopping around. I wanted to do more, to be more, but it was still an excellent day.
Tomorrow I return to work, return to the reality that I am in medical limbo. But I don't even care. I'm so blessed, and so overjoyed, and I will come back to today when I am feeling down or doubt or pain.
I don't have a point to this story other than sharing. Wishing every one of you the best and sending much love 💜 💜
thank you for taking the time to share such a beautiful love story. It sounds like you had a wonderful wedding and have great memories to look back upon. I'm sure you have a great picture framed in your home to remind you of the special moment too. 😀 I hope you enjoyed your anniversary yesterday and take it easy today as you return to work.
Best
Alene (Team member)it's wonderful when you can fill your home with so many wonderful memories. I truly believe it has a big impact on our emotional and mental wellbeing. It sounds like your home does that well! I'm actually in the process of decorating our home and this gives me inspiration to fill it with pictures of our favorite memories!
Alene, team memberI'm just seeing your photo now, it did post! This is such a fabulous picture of such a special memory for you and your husband. Thank you for sharing this with us!
Best
Alene (team member)
Whose cutting onions?! 😭 Wow- what a heartfelt story. It’s incredible to hear about your journey with your husband, the strength you found in each other, and the sheer joy of making a commitment that felt perfectly, uniquely yours. Your story is a reminder of what really matters: the love we build, the people who stand beside us, and those precious moments we hold on to. Sending you all the strength, patience, and love as you keep moving forward. Here’s to many more anniversaries and many more good days, filled with love and laughter. 💜-Latoya (Team Member) thank you! At the end of the day, that really is what matters most isn't it? I have so much joy in my life from the people I have chosen for my circle.
Like today. Going back to work, knowing I have so much to catch up because I'm the sole accounting role at my company, I still spent my day smiling and joking. I have my people.
And then tonight, our washing machine stops working. We had our suspicion because it struggled on the last load but failed completely on our test load today. But I can roll with the punches because I have my person.
So here I sit, my body feels like it's on a raft out to sea, my face has been experiencing the electric shocks for a few hours, I haven't felt my legs all day, but I'm happy. The relationships I've made make the difference. I wish this happiness for everyone.
Sending much love 💜your positivity is palpable! I hope that you've eased back into work and have a working washing machine now to. As always, wishing you the best.
Alene (team member)
