They're Married! // Ruth & Jason

 ^ Ugh, the feels. ^

I've started this post a dozen different ways. Even now, I'm not sure this is the way I like best, but at some point, it's better to just start writing and not worry about it, than to agonize for hours on end over the perfect intro.

I met Ruth during sixth grade on Visitors' Day at what would become my middle and high school. She wasn't the buddy assigned to me, but she was super friendly and as a kid who grew up at a mostly-Caucasian elementary who was now being thrown into this new school where 98% of the kids were Asian, she was more familiar to me than anyone else I had met that day.

She invited me to eat lunch with her and her friends in the cafeteria and being super overwhelmed by all the curious strangers I had been surrounded by all day, I of course said yes. After standing in the line and getting our food, Ruth led me over to a bunch of chattering girls who immediately smiled in welcome, never pausing to look me over first to see if I was cool enough to sit with them or make me feel like I was intruding.

The benches and tables of that cafeteria are just as sticky now as they were then, like the plastic tops kind of melted and never fully rehardened. I could probably point out the table we sat at and where I quietly listened to their animated conversations and grinned silently at their jokes. I was terrified of switching schools in the middle of the school year, but these girls made me feel a little less awkward and scared, and for that, I'm forever grateful.

We all went on to make a bajillion memories together, snicker at thousands of inside jokes, exchange hundreds of hugs hello and goodbye, and in Ruth and I's case, argue about ALL THE THINGS. I've said it before and I'll say it again, my closest friends are the ones I've spent a lot of time fighting with in years past, and if we remained friends through all that, I know they've still got my back no matter what.

There were days when I wanted to strangle her and I'm more than certain there were frequently times she felt the same way about me. Yet I also knew that if I needed to cry or confide in someone or have an ally against some imagined or real slight, be it from classmate or teacher, she would be there by my side {or in some cases, leading the way in front of me}. She has been my champion, protector, and friend for thirteen years... and has gotten me into so much trouble along the way. *laughs*

This past weekend, I spent much of my time grinning like an idiot. Our Ruthie was getting married and as excited as we were for her, it was also somewhat surreal. A bunch of us got together and helped out with her wedding party bonding day on Saturday and it was like a giant, glorious reunion... with the added bonus of it all being composed of people we liked and got along with fantastically. :P We ran around our old campus playing tag in the dark like it was a Friday night in middle school all over again. And when I came home afterwards, I realized that that had basically been our last hoorah-- not only is our campus closing this summer so we'll never be able to visit again, but we're all splitting up and moving in different directions in terms of jobs or grad school or GETTING MARRIED AND MOVING HALFWAY ACROSS THE NATION *coughcoughRuthcough*.

Surprisingly, I wasn't as sad about it as I thought I would've been. Possibly because I knew that even if we all don't see each other again for another long while, we'll still fall back into our same patterns and comfortable-ness right away. That's what happened this time. It's just how we work.

I will admit, I totally teared up watching our Ruthie walk down the aisle. I'm not normally a super demonstrative person in terms of crying in public {or at all}, so the waterworks were pretty unexpected. I did a lot of blinking. It was just one of those, "Who woulda thought?" type moments, where all the times we were awkward and angsty and argued over silly things were remembered and I looked in front of me and... she just looked so grown up. And adult. And mature. And I'm so proud of who she's become.

I don't quite know how to explain it. I think part of it is that she's the first of our crowd to get married. A few of the others are engaged at the moment, but Ruth's the first to actually get that second ring on her finger and provide us with cake. *grins* It does feel a bit like she's no longer entirely ours though, since she's got this other person in her life. Luckily for all, Jason is a pretty cool kid and we all like him and it's more than obvious he adores her, so letting go isn't too hard.

We love you, Ruthie dear. Thanks for inviting us to be a part of your day, giving us a reason to all get together again, and hosting an excellent party. You should get married more often, so we can do this again. :P We're so excited for you and we love you lots and lots and lots. 

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If you know me personally, I've posted a bunch of photos from Ruth's wedding on Facebook. So you can see those there. If not, the wedding was held at the Old Homestead in Crockett, California, it was gorgeous outside, and fun was had by all... until the saltwater mosquitoes showed up at sundown. O.o Still, twas a good day.

Also, Recap, Part Two, is here!