I have the special honor of knowing a handful of wonderful young women in their twenties, most either freshly married or planning their weddings this summer.  I have asked them to submit thoughts on these early days of married life, setting up their homes, new recipes...any topics that might be of interest to the young wife just starting out in her lifetime commitment.  Today, I am happy to feature our first guest blog, from my daughter.  

Warning: if you are a mom - grab a kleenex!  

Making it Feel Like Home

"My husband and I moved from Missouri into our new apartment in Arkansas just days after we returned from the honeymoon. My husband, Jeremy, had already been living in the apartment for a few months, but I had to move all my belongings. So we rented a U-haul trailer and drove 7 hours in separate cars. My new husband dutifully carried me up to the second floor and over the threshold of our new home. Then it was back down, and up and down, and up and down again for about two hours. I was told that we would feel so excited about moving in that the time would fly. It really didn’t. It was hard work.

Finally we fell down exhausted. My husband said ‘Welcome Home’ in some sort of charming way. I just started to cry. I asked him how long he thought it would take before it actually felt like home. His eyes teared up too, and there was nothing we could say. We both knew we wanted more then anything else to be right there with the other, but leaving our parents’ homes in Missouri was scary. We were not yet sure how to make a new home.

The next morning our empty bellies let us to unpack the kitchen boxes first. I had received a waffle maker and just-add-water-waffle-mix at one of my bridal showers! It was the perfect breakfast. My husband easily set up the table my parents had passed on to us. The catch was, the only chair we owned was his swiveling office desk chair, and so we ate our waffles, and many meals after that, with me sitting on his lap.

As we unpacked the rest of the kitchen, we were overwhelmed with how much there was for that one small room. Jeremy was confused as to why he didn’t get nearly as many ‘tools’ as I did! We both knew there was not enough cabinet space for all the things we had. Dishes, serving dishes, five different styles of glasses, appliances, kitchen linens, utensils, pots and pans, on and on. So many things. Then, once again, I started to cry. Giddy with joy, I started throwing newspaper.  Within moments, I was leaning against the counter crying. I simply could not believe that everything in that kitchen was mine. I realized just a little more how blessed I am and my only response was to cry with thankfulness. It was like trying on a veil for the first time at David’s Bridal and having the words, “I’m getting married” finally sink in. I was married; to a man so much better then the one in my dreams. We were surrounded by hundreds of gifts of love from our closest friends. Suddenly, the kitchen felt a little bit like home."