Or Maybe it's Just a Sign I'm Getting Older...

I am back in Maputo, back to the familiarity of the dusty city streets and the neglected corners of our flat, back to the routine of consulting and lunching and TV in the evenings that I had grown accustomed to before leaving for Brazil last month. Everything is still largely the same, of course, but it feels somehow different. I feel different.

I find it incredible that getting married has provoked this change in perspective for me. In all other chapter-defining life events I've experienced thus far, I've been hit with the slight depression that comes from expecting you'll feel radically different, when in reality it's just another day and you're left wondering when - if ever - you'll feel the change sink in.

When I turned 21, I felt just the same as I did on day 364 of being 20. Graduating from college was a similar experience; people kept asking how it felt to have a diploma, and quite honestly it was just the same as before I could put any credentials next to my name. Same with getting my MBA. And though I desperately wished it weren't the case, I didn't even feel that different after getting engaged!

Something about marriage is different. Perhaps it is the name change, or the aftermath of the wedding-high, or maybe it is the culmination of the subtle shift in perspective and beliefs and actions I've noticed taking place over the last few months. Whatever the reason, or combination of reasons, I feel different, Maputo feels different, Rico feels different, family feels different, plans feel different.

I wish I were able to put the changes into words a bit more eloquently and accurately...

La Dolce Vita

Rico and I are enjoying the last few days of our honeymoon in Vietnam. I will be back to regular blogging once we are in Maputo and recovered a bit from the shock of being back to real life.

This past month has been incredible. I couldn't have imagined a more magical wedding, a more awesome party, a more luxuriuos honeymoon, a more generous family (both by blood and by marriage), and of course, a more incredible husband.

Signing off for now,

Mrs. Amaro

Rehearsal Video Clip

Very short, but sweet nonetheless. Also courtesy of my friend Maura.

Rehearsal Dinner

Date: 04 July 2008
Rehearsal Location: São Paulo Anglican Church, Santa Teresa
Dinner Location: Real Astória, Botafogo
Photos courtesy of my friend Maura - many more to come

We Are...

exhausted, happy, tired, anxious, excited, sleep-deprived, sick of being in the car, dreamy, in love, grateful, burned-out, content and ready to get married.

But mostly just exhausted. :)

My whole family is in Rio de Janeiro right now, and it is the first time in my ENTIRE LIFE that I have had everyone together. My family is small - I'm an only child, I have 1 surviving grandparent, 1 blood uncle, 1 blood aunt, 3 first cousins and 2 second cousins - and we have never in my lifetime managed to get the nuclear family together. (To be fair there are a few more distant cousins in there, but I'm not in touch with any of them and likely couldn't even list their names.)

Rico's whole family is here as well, so it is an especially nice reunion on both sides.

We're almost there. All the details are in place, now we just have to sit back and enjoy!