It’s our very last day in Georgia, after a great, three-month volunteering gig at Fort Pulaski National Monument between Savannah and Tybee Island. We’ve learned all kinds of things about the Civil War, fortifications, and cannon (which is the plural of cannon). We know more about the low country Gullah Geechee culture that is being wiped out by development. And we’re bringing home the most amazing souvenir:
A marriage certificate!
Yes! After thirty years together, Marika and I got married! In Georgia!! We got the license last Thursday at the county courthouse in Savannah, and then last Saturday morning, we had the official ceremony On the BEACH on Tybee Island!!! A friend and her partner came down from Atlanta to perform the very small, very simple ceremony. Two other friends came too, to be witness. Another friend sent a beautiful, delicious, coconut cake, that we all enjoyed back at the RV, after lunch at a local restaurant.
Because neither one of us had ever dreamed of having a wedding, the whole thing was spontaneous and organic and perfect for who we are, now.
The tide was almost high, so we stood in the soft sand near the dunes, facing the waves, with Tybee Lighthouse in the background. It was cloudy, and chilly, and very windy, so the video is mostly wind. But the pictures capture the joy and love.
Instead of writing vows, we sang a medley of our favorite love songs to each other. And we found our rings at the beach souvenir store, next to the bikinis and plastic sand toys.
It all happened so quickly, but everything fell into place so easily. The impetus was to get Marika on my health insurance that has coverage all over the country. We’re hoping she’ll be approved by the time we get to Phoenix, so she can make her appointments to get on the path to less pain.
When I told my Dad we were getting married, his first comment was about better taxes, then he wanted to make sure it was legal everywhere. And then he said Mazel Tov and hoped I was happy. He told me about his day, and he’s often forgotten the previous conversation by then, but he said, Let me talk to Marika, and he wished her happiness too. WOW!
It’s all pretty amazing. And exciting too! And a wonderful way to begin this next chapter, with a three week honeymoon road trip.
We pull out in the morning, heading to a county park south of Tallahassee to see manatees and a lighthouse, then on to Fairhope, Alabama, north of Gulf Shores, and the birthplace of Jimmy Buffet. We’ll spend a few days exploring some wildlife refuges in the area, then we’ll enjoy a relaxing week of birds and beach on Bolivar Peninsula on the Texas coast. I’m thinking we’ll be back in Phoenix by the end of the month, but I don’t have a plan past Texas, because I don’t need to.
Once again, I am reminded that things really do unfold in their own time. And that it’s always so much more amazing than I could have imagined. It’s a practice of ask and let go, trust and release, and open, open, open!
Thanks for sharing in the joy and excitement!
