Category: One year ago today I got married to my beautiful wife Jennifer. It’s hard to believe that it has been one year, not only because the time has flown by, but also because of the year that it has been.
Like any couple, there was plenty of last minute planning and decisions needed for the wedding to go off without a hitch. We decided to have a Saturday late-afternoon ceremony in August, which in the Mid-Atlantic region means “hot with a chance of thunderstorms.” The night before (our rehearsal dinner), there was rain, so the possibility of rain was in the back of everyone’s minds. After dinner, we arrived at the hotel to meet and welcome our guests, but as much of a traditionalist as I am, I actually behaved myself and drove home early (rather than, say, re-enacting The Hangover…)
When I woke up that Saturday, it was a bit of a hazy sunny morning. In keeping with the responsibility angle, I woke up early not just to make sure all of the wedding plans were in order, but also to study. Yes, I actually studied on my wedding day.
See, the thing about our wedding date is that we were originally going to get married on August 15th. When I asked Jennifer to marry me, I had already been accepted into the CCMBA program, but I didn’t really pay attention to when the program would begin. Once planning started, I realized that August 15th wouldn’t work, as I needed to leave for London August 14th to begin the program; it was also the first time that I realized that I would be sacrificing a lot and asking a lot of many people by enrolling in this program.
We ended up postponing our honeymoon until January 2010, so that I could go to London and Dubai to study. Even then, I spent quite a few hours on the cruise ship reading ‘Imagining India’ by Nandan Nilekani in advance of my trip to India. That’s not to say we didn’t have a fantastic time in the Eastern Caribbean, but I’m embarrassed to say that later on this year, I was convinced that I hadn’t taken any vacation days. Not that I forgot that we went on the cruise, but with the intensity of work and school, I had lost track of the fact that the cruise had only been a few months before.
As the India and China trips had passed, I felt like I had reached a turning point. Going to St. Petersburg was the final overseas residency, and from there my work-school-home life should’ve come into better balance. It’s funny how life intervenes though; St. Petersburg wasn’t a particularly good trip, but it certainly is complete. I’ve really not gotten on track for the residency portion of this semester, even though I’ve been home for three weeks now…on a relative basis, my accounting exam was pretty weak and work is as stressful and difficult as ever. I’m also in the process of purchasing a home and the resulting move. What can I say, it’s either a great time to buy or we’re just getting addicted to chaos…
Yesterday, Jennifer and I returned to the place we got married; as part of the wedding package we purchased, there was a one-year anniversary dinner and hotel stay. Being that we got married about 15 miles from our (current) home, it wasn’t a particularly taxing event to return, but in many ways I think that was a good thing. Seeing the place we got married a year later, under much less stressful conditions, made me realize that the past year has been so amazing in so many ways. There was a wedding being held there last night, so we got to hear all of the excitement of the newly married couple’s reception and reflect back upon our own special, dare I say flawless, day.
So much of the past year has been intertwined that I cannot separate being married with being in school. While I wouldn’t trade the experiences of the past year for anything, it will be good to be done with the program. Going to London, Dubai, Delhi, Shanghai, and St. Petersburg in the span of 12 months has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but there’s clearly been a huge sacrifice on the part of my wife. All I can say is thank you Jennifer for supporting me throughout this ordeal, and even though I need to steal another 4 months into our second year of our marriage, I promise the rest of our life will be dedicated to making our own experiences around the world or wherever life make take us.
Congratulations, Randy!
Very nicely written. You have an incredible wife and I wish you both the best for the rest of your married lives. Enjoy every moment and cherish each other.
Hi Randy,
Best wishes on your anniversary. Wish you many more fun-filled and happy adventures with your wife. Its really nice that you put up this post and its one of your best.
Not sure if you noticed, but we became “online friends” shortly after your wedding and through your fantastic and personal writing, I (and I daresay plenty of other readers) have lived the Fuqua CCMBA program through your eyes. It was a great experience meeting you and sharing time in Delhi. I hope you get the chance to make some more India-trips in future.
Kudos to your focus, hard work and efforts. I have been inspired by your journey and hope to apply some of the learnings during my time in school.
Naveen
Thanks Naveeen! I do remember that too…among the many great experiences in the program, meeting so many wonderful people certainly counts as one of the best. Good luck with your MBA program, and I look forward to reading about what you are doing. And we shall have to get together in Boston some time, I haven’t spent a proper amount of time up there :)
Congratulations on your 1st anniversary Randy.
How far away is Durham from where you currently reside? I know it will be a long trip for people on the West-Coast. This will be the only residency where I will be flying for more than 12 hours and I expect no pity from anyone in the class for the ensuing jet lag I will probably suffer.
Durham is the same time zone, and I can drive there in about 6 hours or fly in less than 2. It won’t be a very taxing trip for me, other than the outrageous amount of BBQ I plan to eat while I’m down there!