The Notebook

Paradox Poem

Liz

I like to be neat, but I'm sometimes messy.
Maybe that's why my grades aren't the absolute best, even though I really want them to be.
They used to be, but used to be is not now.
But now,
I'm a morning person, even though I dread waking up early for school.
I'm now single and like it, even though I do like relationships.
I want to be thin,
But I'm not.
I love being with my friends, but I also like to be alone.
I want to grow up, but I also want to stay young forever.
I'm Liz and this is me and I like it.
The one thing for sure I don't need to contrast in myself.

Grandmother reading to her grand-kids

Wedding Day

The day, the weather, the time, the setting, the look, the aroma of the air; everything was perfect for our wedding day which was on Saturday May 12, 2007. The day that we committed the rest of our lives to each other was just how I imagined it. We had it in my mother’s backyard. I know it sounds a little cliché to have a backyard wedding, but it’s the first place that came to our minds. The reason is, it’s the place where he had asked me to be his girlfriend, and then later on to be his wife. It was also the place that we met. He was my cousin’s best friend. It was a family cookout and my cousin had brought him along. We clicked from the first moment we talked and the click never left.
So, that’s how we came up with having it in my mother’s backyard. The backyard is huge, about three acres, so there was plenty of room to have it. My mother always had it nice and landscaped perfectly so everything was just beautiful. The grass was a deep green. It was soft and plushy that you could just lie down and feel like you have a blanket underneath you. The Dogwood trees were big and bloomed with big pink flowers, making the air have a pleasant perfume smell. My mother just so happened to have a big, white gazebo under two of the trees. That’s where we had said our vows. I loved that gazebo. There were so many memories of just sitting there on those long summer nights and gazing up at the stars. We had professional decorators come in. They laid down a long white silk carpet like aisle leading up to the gazebo. Along with that, they brought in about 300 high quality white folding chairs for the guests. They had deep red seat cushions so the guests would be more comfortable. Before the white silk aisle, they had put a archway entering into it. It was made out of that wood fence but it was white. They had intertwined vines and red roses all around the arch.

My entering was picture perfect. We of course had the flower girl and the brides maids and the grooms men. I had six bridesmaids and my maid of honor was my younger sister. She was 18. I was 25. The bridesmaid dresses were deep red and rich looking, like roses in a rose garden. They were halter top style and came down to about their ankles. Simple but yet elegant. The grooms men wore the traditional black tux but with red underneath to match with the bridesmaids. My dress was exactly like my dream dress. It was white and a nice sheen material. It went all the way down to my feet and was very long down the back. It was also halter cut. I had my hair done in a nice curly bun and wore a diamon tiara with a viel on the back of it. Of course my husband wore a black tux with white underneath. Just everything about enetering was amazing.

I have never been happier in my life when it came time to say my vows. When he took my hand and we looked into each other's eyes, everything just stopped. His hands were clean, but they had a rough touch to them because he was a consruction worker. His nails were as short as could be. Even though his hands were rough, they still had a soft touch to them. I wondered if he thought about my touch as I held his hand with my french manicured nails. I just knew as we stood saying our vows, our love poured out while in that moment of holding hands. This was just the beginning of our journey of love together for the rest of our lives.