Finally married!!

Well, it’s Tuesday night once again. Like usual I’m short on time. It’s no wonder that happens so often, especially this time of year. After I get done writing, I’m heading to my seventh (and hopefully final) Christmas program of the year. It might as well be Christmas day, because it doesn’t look like I’ll have much time to complete my cards or wrap presents. Nate and I leave Friday night for my parents. Then Christmas morning, we’ll pack up and head back north for the Eckert family Christmas.

Speaking of that, it will be my first Christmas as a full-fledged Eckert. You may have noticed the name change above. It’s no mistake, and I have not been placed in the witness protection program. Despite a lack of free time in this season, Nate and I finally got around to tying the knot. It was a very small, very simple ceremony. And, in Wisconsin tradition, we visited a tavern afterward.

I really don’t feel any different. Nothing has really changed significantly, except we’re now legally bound to one another. If it hadn’t of been for the not so subtle hints from our friends and family, we’d probably still be unwed. It takes time and money to plan a wedding, something we don’t really have an abundance of. That happens when employed in the agriculture and/or newspaper industries. But we’re finally sharing a last name, so now the real work begins.

First is all the name changing. I’ve started keeping a list of all the things I need to change my name on. From utility bills to credit cards to places in this newspaper, you don’t realize how many places your name is until you need to change every single place. Nate certainly got off easy in this area.

I also have to re-learn how to sign my name. So far, I’ve only had to sign it once on our marriage certificate. I stumbled and bumbled over it. I think the capital “E” is what trips me up. The surname just does not flow well into cursive. But I could be a lot worse off for last names. I’ve seen quite a few names of the eastern European variety with lots of letters but few consonants. At least this one’s easy to spell, but not so common as Nelson. Unless you happen to live in the Goodrich area.

Because we made it simple, there’s a lot of things we missed out on. We spent our wedding night at our respective jobs: me at a meeting and Nate milking cows. Then we honeymooned in the town of Medford. But we also missed out on some rather unpleasant aspects of a big traditional wedding, like clutter and fighting. As we were leaving after being married, our friend, Dana, who was married last spring, leaned over and said, “That was the most stress free wedding I’ve ever seen.” That’s the effect we were going for.

So now it’s time for more Christmas music. I’ll leave you with my favorite marriage quote I’ve found so far. This one’s for you, Nate: “I love being married. It’s so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.”--Rita Rudner.