“She’s American? Is she a typical American, you know FAT?”
I must be crazy. I can’t believe I committed myself to moving to a country I’d never been to. If you recall by this time I hadn’t even taken my trip to Ireland yet. Anton was scheduled to stay for 2 weeks but because of weather delays he would have missed his connecting flight out of New Jerseyso they cancelled it. This meant I got to be with my brand new fiancé for another 5 days. Oh darn, what’s a girl to do. So I peeled out of my driveway, drove an hour back up to the airport, collected the boy, and whisked him back to my love pad. The next 5 days were a gift from the gods.
We just took that time to relax and inform friends and family of our engagement. The reactions were anywhere from “He sounded nice on the phone” (my mom) to “Jessi, that’s a guys name.” and “She’s American? Is she a typical American, you know FAT?” (Anton’s dad). That was hilarious because he had no idea he was on speaker phone or that I was listening in so I had fun with him. I simply took the microphone (we called from the pc) and said, “Um I’m thin cause uh I workout?” in my best western New York accent where every statement sounds like a question.
It was Anton’s turn to turn 5 shades of red. The poor thing was sweating bullets with the idea of telling his folks, who I’d never even met, that he was marrying a Yank. I had no problem telling my family because they knew so much about him already. Ever since we booked his trip over I’d been talking about him. So we all got a chance to informally meet over the internet but to this day he hasn’t met one of my family members in person. Funds are tight you see. I on the other hand have met many of his family members, which is no easy task considering he’s got over 50+ first cousins. When Anton finally did leave it broke my heart. I was a pathetic puddle of tears on the floor. I missed him, so much in fact that I pushed my flight up almost 2 weeks. That way I had a full 4 weeks in Ireland.
“…didn’t hit home until I gave him one last kiss at the security checkpoint…The tears began to fall again…”
When I arrived it was raining. I’d never been so happy to see rain. All of my research about Ireland, and even Europe, was that it rains A LOT! So I figured that if it wasn’t raining I wasn’t getting the full effect. An effect, I might add, that I don’t necessarily need to experience daily anymore. Bygones. Getting through the security checkpoint was a very new experience for me. I’d never needed a passport other then when I moved to the States from the Philippines, where I was born, when I was 18 months old. And that I definitely don’t remember it. So I got up to the desk and was asked if I was here for business or pleasure. I then did 3 things: blushed, giggled, and said ‘pleasure’ in a tone that was trying to be funny/flirty, but the guard didn’t seem impressed. He stamped my passport and I was on my way to the moment I’d been waiting for for 4 weeks. My love.
He spent the next 4 weeks returning the favor of tour-guide. I saw Limerick, Tipperary, the Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle, Dublin, Donegal, and even took a trip to Parma, Italy for his niece’s christening. It was the most amazing vacation of my life. I instantly fell in love with Ireland and dreaded having to go back to the States. By the end of the trip I had more pictures than I could count and a head full of great times to tell everyone back home about. The last day came and he took me to the airport. It really didn’t hit home until I gave him one last kiss at the security checkpoint that I wouldn’t see him for another 3 months. The tears began to fall again and all I could do was pray that something would stop the plane from departing. But nothing did. The plane left on time and carried me back home safely.
Hi. I’d like an order of anxiety with a side of guilt please?
Coming right up!
Over the next 3 months I packed, shipped, sold, or gave away all of my belongings. My mother came to visit for what would be my last 6 weeks as a resident in the United States. She made it very clear that she would miss visiting the town I lived in. The fact was she wanted to move up to that town with me but had no reason to if I wasn’t there. So I had the guilt of leaving friends that I loved, a shop I made a success out of nothing, and now to top it all off my mother saying she would move 1500 miles to live near me again after 6 years of living apart. Aces!
Wedding On A Dime 
