Thursday, May 15, 2008

Wedding Day!!!




We did it! We got hitched; tied the knot, took the plunge; jumped the broom and got married! (civilly anyway) In the interest of equal time, we “la soga al cuello” (cut the throat), (more coming when I can find them)

We made it to the civil office this morning. The secretary asked us what happened yesterday. Ana told her about the delays in immigration and that we have everything together and in order. We were able to drop everything off for review and keep our 12:30 appointment with the judge.

The next several hours were spent in a relaxed hurry. Immediately started down the list calling all of her brothers and sisters to let them know we were on. We haven’t had any power in the house since yesterday afternoon which added another interesting dynamic to getting ready. It also meant that we couldn’t get online which has been making me a little stir crazy. There is a public internet site around the corner so I left to get online for a few minutes. Just after I rounded the corner Ana caught with me to escort me to the shop. Her mother was worried because I looked like a gringo, alone on the street with a laptop. We returned to the house a little later to finish getting ready. The siblings started arriving around noon and we all left together.



At the office, once we got the secretaries attention, we were given a sample document with our information to review. We corrected some typos, signed the new sample document and put our thumbprints on it. We only waited about 10 or 15 minutes more and were called into the judge’s office. After a minute of picture taking, the judge entered and we started the ceremony. I don’t know what all he said but I agreed with it when he asked me. Actually he spent a couple of minutes explaining the significance of marriage and the responsibilities of the husband and wife to each other and their children. We then signed and thumb-printed official copies of the document we signed earlier followed by the declaration of the judge and applause of the family. I was busy kissing the bride so I didn’t check to see if everyone applauded.



The wedding was followed by a surprise dinner at a family style steak house and then Ana had to see a patient in the clinic. She is also planning on doing some surgery on one of my gums this afternoon but I’m hoping I can distract her enough to forget about it. It was working until I let her read this! Great!

History
For several weeks before the first trip to Mexico, we had been telling each other “Te quiero.” It’s saying something between “I really, really like you” and “I love you.” I wanted to see her in person when I told her that I loved her for the first time. I had planned a somewhat detailed, very full trip for two weeks. I would arrive in Mexico on Thursday, spend a few days meeting the family and then Ana and I would fly to California for a week to meet my family. We would then fly back to Mexico together for a few more days before I returned to Indiana.

Ana was waiting for me after I passed through immigration and customs at the airport in Mexico. I immediately dropped my bags and gave her a long, special, hug. We walked off to the side of the concourse and said a prayer together. I’m sure we walked back to her car after that but I don’t remember taking any steps. After putting the bags in the car, once we finally found it, we stopped again, embraced and, after looking into her irresistible brown eyes, I couldn’t hold out any longer. I told her that I loved her and gave her a kiss. I won’t go into details about that, and don’t think I could!

We left the airport and I entered a very strange world. I’ve heard about the traffic. I’ve seen the traffic in Mexicali. I can’t describe the traffic here. You have to experience it. It’s a lot like those films we saw in school of blood passing through the body, separating and blending rapidly, except the traffic doesn’t flow nearly as smoothly. Sometimes after a particularly close pass the driver will ask the passenger if they still have their ear. We are often only inches from the next car. And to merge you only need enough room to get your bumper into the next lane. Forget about watching for enough space for the whole car! We weren’t ready to go back to the house yet so we decided to stop and get something to eat. I was excited to experience real Mexican food. I was a little surprised when she took me to Applebee’s! Later that evening we returned to the house and started to meet the family…

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!! To both of you! =)

Hope515 said...

YAY! Congratulations! I want to see pictures!

Brian & Ana said...

We have power now so the pictures are coming soon!