A Life Of Cyn

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

It’s been two months since my last update–time is flyin' by and I just can’t keep up! I'm finally regaining control of my life, so hopefully future posts will be more timely.
In the meantime, some major happenings over the summer have included:

Remember how I said that doing our wedding/anniversary in waves would be less physically, emotionally, and mentally taxing than having a traditional ceremony? Having not done the traditional ceremony, I suppose I can’t make a totally accurate comparison, but I will say that 24 consecutive days of hosting 5 in-laws, my mom, and 14 of my nearest and dearest friends left me utterly POOPED. 

But man, what a ride. 

First, the family. I have met boyfriends’ families before, and I am usually pretty good at it. I’d even go so far as to say that it was not long before I felt my last boyfriend’s family liked me better than they liked my boyfriend (but really, who wouldn’t?). 

Having already married Jamie, however, I felt a little (a lot) anxious about the whole affair. Not that families really ought to have a say in their children’s partners, but in our case, they are truly stuck with me, and I worried that the added pressure would make things feel awkward or contrived in some way. Looking back, I don’t really think that happened. Not that it didn’t feel awkward or contrived at times, or that I didn’t consistently mess up that cheek-kissing thing (still confused about how many times I’m supposed to switch sides), but Jamie’s family seems relatively normal and nice and only asked about grandchildren once (as if their right), so all in all, I’d call it a win. 

This was the first time I have been able to host my mom in my own space. It was a little tight and I am thoroughly sick of the smell of cigarette smoke, but I loved every minute. We rode a tandem bicycle (and in the biggest oversight of the year, got no photos of the outing), made Korean food together, and spoke half-Korean/half-English all week long. I showed her what my Korean lessons are like (she even helped me through a few of them) and I got to cook for her for the first time (and she liked it!). 

This was also the first time I have really gotten to see what the state of my mom’s health is like these days. In my mind, she is (and has been for the last 2 decades) a youthful 55 years old. She switches between full-time dry cleaning and housekeeping jobs depending on the season, so she must be pretty sturdy, right? 

Turns out, she is actually 68 years old (don’t tell her I told you), and suffers from perpetually swollen legs and feet. She’s been smoking for longer than I’ve been alive and exclusively drinks instant coffee (it took her two entire days to drink half a liter of water). On the first day she was here, I took her to a breakfast cafe that is a lazy 10-minute walk from my apartment, and she was totally maxed out. 

Everybody’s parents get old and eventually, they’re just not around anymore, but it finally struck me on this visit what that actually looks like. It’s weird to come to terms with while trying to celebrate an anniversary, but it made me appreciate that much more the time I got to spend with her, and I will try to prioritize it for as long as I’m able. 

By the end of the week, she hiked for 3-miles on a gently sloping forested trail and ate lunch with our feet in the river of Shannon Falls. She is anxiously awaiting next year's visit, and so am I.

The Family Ceremony was held on our actual anniversary at the beach where we originally got married, and was led by Jamie’s mom (mum), who tied our hands together according to Scottish tradition. Our families spoke encouraging and loving words to us (my mom made everybody cry), we had a Korean picnic, and we finished the day by getting loudly and embarrassingly drunk at a pub. 

The family leaves, and enter the Goon Squad for our belated (belay-ted) honeymoon!

The entire state of New York flew in to see if all the hype around Squamish is warranted, and I’m hoping it met expectations! There were big sends all around–on the wall (shout out: ISA for breaking into the 12s!), on the Bananagrams board (shout out: SOPHIA for educating us on what the kids are saying these days), and on the couch (shout out: NIKHIL for learning how to spread your toes!). 

I did end up suffering a mild-to-medium injury on Day 1 (my knee is making a slow-but-sure recovery; hopefully I’ll be back on the wall next month), but what a privilege it was to roast mini marshmallows around the campfire under the light of the International Space Station, sing VeggieTales songs in the hot tub, and watch the entire Squamish Emergency Response Team show up in front of our AirBnB as we tried to wrangle our car out of the ditch. 

Our marriage has obviously been valid this whole time, but after all of this, it finally feels real. You’ve all gotten to see my cozy little apartment, eat my favorite local ice cream(s), and gotten to experience a small part of my life in Vancouver. Thank you all for making the long journey to celebrate with us; my heart is full of the warm-fuzzies from getting to share the time and space with y’all, and I hope we can do it again very soon.