Make that a town of 9901 - I moved here.
That isn't so small, is it? Not in comparison.
However, when your fiance and his family grew up here and are staples in the community - it's SMALL!
This is usually how it goes for me...
"Did you find a place to live?"
"Yes, my fiance and I moved out to the country, right outside of town. He grew up here."
"Oh really, what's his last name?"
Then typical responses are as follows:
"You are marrying JOSH Oaks?! He's so nice!"
"Is his mother's name Dorothy? (I say yes) You are going to be Dirt's (his mom's nickname) daughter in law!"
"The Oaks are such a nice family!"
Today someone said, "Josh Oaks...Ashley's brother?"
YES -- that's the one! It's never ending. Someone always knows Josh or his parents. At least they follow it up with how nice he is, how great of a guy he is, how happy they are for us, etc. He could be the town drunk, I suppose and people's reactions could be "Oh...I know Josh" or something. So count my lucky stars. This has led me to believe that this introvert may not get a lot of privacy in Monmouth, Illinois.
Josh's mom said soon everyone will know me -- and when I go around town they will simply say "Hi Mishelle" instead of saying "That is the future Mrs. Josh Oaks" (that wasn't made up by the way -- happened last week outside of the bank). We will see. I normally just like to fly under the radar... but I smile and I am attempting to be a good sport. Like I said, he's awesome so I am lucky!!!
Another thing -- everyone is SO happy that we are getting married, which is great. Really great. Appreciate it. Even those of you reading this blog - we feel your support every day! All these people I don't know in town, now know me, hug me, and tell me how much they are looking forward to our wedding. Here's the thing though, and I don't mean to offend anyone when I say this honestly, I am learning (we are learning), weddings are darn expensive...and when I say darn, I mean REALLY expensive. So, please love me and know this comes from my heart when I say that we are glad you are happy for us and thank you for your well wishes...but you may not make the list to look forward to our wedding. This goes for his Monmouth peeps and my friends surrounding the world. This has been hard to swallow but I am learning it is the bain of wedding planning -- so love us anyway... you just might have to experience it in pictures...
Final note of the week...the cows... this is what I learned...and when I say learned, imagine a shocked expression each time followed by a "Are you serious?" comment...
1. Cow Pie Bingo -- no joke. I did not see this first hand (and I think that is okay with me) but apparently it's a big bingo board and people pick numbers, placing bets, and then you wait for the cow to do his business. If he does it on your number, you win. People bet money on this!
2. Calf Tagging -- oh yes, I learned about this one this week when I was with my fiance at the festival planning meeting. This is his event. And when I inquired further -- all my brain processed was glue put on a cow (ouch!) and numbers put on the glue...then children chase the calf around trying to grab at the numbers to win a prize. And apparently the cow is not in pain or hurt during this process -- can barely feel it, Josh says. (How does he know?!). Josh asked if I wanted to put the glue on...
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