Life escalates

Gosh, I'm getting married a week from tomorrow.

One hour, I'm totally anxious about things like table decorations and ugly basement walls, and the next I feel relaxed and eager to see people I love. And to get married, of course.

I decided not to change my name. Being me, I still go back and forth about this a bit -- I could become Heidi Haverkamp Frieberg legally, but just continue to use Haverkamp professionally? This is such a new era in my life, but at the same time, I'll still be me. Aw, I'm just a waffler! And when I talk about it, I make Adam tired. So, I'll be quiet now, since he reads this. But then again, having something else to obsess about keeps me away from the table decorations. Maybe being Heidi Frieberg wouldn't be such a big change, But then, I already have a nameplate that says HEIDI HAVERKAMP on my office door (as of just last week!) and plus I told the congregation last Sunday I wasn't changing my name, as a result of a joke someone made during announcements. (waffle waffle waffle)

On another note, last night, Adam and I had dinner with my mom's Norwegian cousins -- Ragnhild and Odd -- which was SO fun. I haven't seen them 17 years, since I visited Norway with my mom when I was 15. They're in their 70s, but they seem much younger. They came all the way out here for my wedding. Two other Norwegian cousins are coming for my brother's wedding in October. It means a lot that they would come so far for us. :)

And Adam and I are getting more and more RSVP's and packages from Crate and Barrel in the mail. It's really more wonderful than I ever thought - not in a materialistic way, but because I feel so "thought of." My family always teases me that I LIVE to be the center of attention, but really, like most people, I am more likely to imagine that people don't notice or think of me much (I know, how could a priest who stands in front of 50-80 people every week ever think that???). But it's true. Receiving gifts is just a very touching thing... I feel very grateful.

Next week, I'll work a few days, and then it begins! My buddy-aunt will be in town, which will be a blast. She, Adam, the parents, Ragnhild and Odd, and other friends, in various combinations, will do things like get the church spaces ready (drag tables from all manners of corners of the building), get flowers from the farmers' market and grocery store, if necessary, to make centerpieces, corsages, and lapel flowers, find some way to make the basement parish hall a little prettier, and probably a few more things I've forgotten about. I think it will be fun.