Forgotten Thank You's

So, if anyone has ever gotten married, you understand the hell that is..."Thank You" cards.  Geeze, not just married, Graduation, Baby, Baby again, whatever, you get the picture.  Have I ever been as miserable as I was writing all those thank you's?  Well, yes, but it's still pretty bad.  It's not the fact that I'm thanking people that is so miserble, because Ryan and I really were truly grateful for everything we received and we were even more grateful just to see everyone!  But, it was how incredibly time consuming it was.  I would dread it everyday when I got home from work.  I wanted every single thank you I wrote to be heartfelt and well-thought, because the worst thing to get is a thank you card from someone that says "Thanks. Love, Karen and Ryan."  I'm not calling anyone out, because I actually can't think of a time when I received a card like that, but I was afraid I would bestow a horrible card like that on someone that deserved so much more from us.  Not sure if you noticed that I keep saying "I" and not "us."  This is for two reasons.  1) Men don't typically partake in the lovely "Thank You" card writing tradition.  2) Ryan has the penmanship of our 3 year old nephew Gavin.  I may be exaggerating a bit, because I don't think he can write yet.  But this I'm sure of, he himself has seen our 7 year old niece Kathryn's handwriting and was shattered.  It is that bad.  So, I was happy to take on the Thank You note writing, before any of you badmouth my darling husband with inadequate penmanship.

Moving on.  It took me a good 3 months to finish all of these Thank You's.  I am victorious!  I don't know why I put so much pressure on myself.  Wait, I do know why.  My mother is an Etiquette Queen...as in, Queen of Etiquette.  She has tried to teach me all my life to be a dignified, charming young lady, and it just didn't stick.  However, in this situation, the last thing I wanted to do was embarrass my mom by not thanking each and every person that was kind to my brand new family.  To this day, 3 moths after I finished my "Thank You's", I still think every now and then, "Did I send one to them?  I'm sure I did.  Well, I don't want to call and ask if they got one from me when they didn't.  Dangit, I'll just ignore it.  Maybe they didn't notice either."  I was thinking this just today, when it hit me hard, really hard.  The most important people in our lives never got their Thank You.  So, this is for you.

Mom and Dad (Medlin)
I feel like a jerk.  And careless.  And less than thoughtful.  All these people to thank, and we didn't thank you.  I know we thanked you on the actual day, but that's really not enough.  But, hey, I'm sure you're used to it by now, right?  Isn't that what being a parent is all about?  Sacrificing and giving more to your kids than they deserve, and not even expecting a thank you.  No, that's not what being my parents is all about.  You guys taught me better than that.  I am so thankful for the beautiful day you gave us.  You made it special even when we didn't know what we wanted, or if we wanted anything.  We know you spent countless time, money and sweat putting our day together, and we had a very minimal hand in anything.  Mom, thank you for your patience.  You know I'm slightly crazy and more than slightly anxious about most things, so thank you for letting me do everything in my time.  You saved Ryan so much heartache by letting me be me, and not stressing me out.  Because we all know that Ryan takes the brunt of my meltdowns.  Thank you for knowing me and loving me, all of me.  We will forever be thankful for that day, and all the great days you've given me, and now us.  And Daddy, thank you for not only walking me down the aisle, but for letting me drink beer and eat fried chicken in the packhouse with you, almost making me late for the wedding festivities.  Thank you for being so gracious to me, Ryan, our friends, and Ryan's family for the wedding extravaganza.  You made everyone so comfortable...you've always been good at that :)  Thanks guys.  Sorry the formal thank you was so late, but it's better late than never, right?  Didn't one of you tell me that?  Yes, I'm sure you did, you're probably just to old to remember.  We love you!

Mama Kath and Papa Wade (Lindsay)
And of course, we forgot to thank my brand new parents as well.  I know you guys had to sacrifice a lot of time and money to fly the whole family cross-country, and I know the trek was stressful and LONG, but I hope you understand how much it meant to us.  It was more than touching to see you guys with my family meeting for the first time, and loving each other more than we could have hoped for.  Thank you for embracing me into your family, as well as embracing my whole family.  You were both so sweet with my niece and nephews, bring them all treats from the West Coast.  They, along with everyone else, were completely smitten with you both.  I know it's been hard for you guys the past couple of years with Ryan being gone, and then with him gettin' hitched to a southern girl, thinking he'll never be home again.  I can't promise we'll ever move back to Oregon, but I can promise that you will be as big a part of our lives as anyone.  And the last thank you is the biggest one for me.  Thank you for making Ryan into the man he is today.  He is perfection to me, and I know you both raised him to be just that.  Thank you for blessing our lives that day, and everyday.  We love you both so much!

Okay, so this is the true test to see if they read my blog.  If they do, I'm glad they finally got their "Thank You."  If they don't read it, screw your Thank You, you should be reading my blog.  Your thanks will be lost in the blogger abyss.  Just kidding, but not really : )  Until tomorrow, folks.