What's in a Name?

So as an extremely punny person, I was a little sad to lose my maiden name about a year ago when I married the greatest man alive (at least in my opinion).  I grew up to jokes of "Susan, are you SHORE?" And if anyone ever asked me a 'yes' or 'no' question, I couldn't help but respond with "Shore!"  (If you haven't guessed by now, my maiden name was, indeed, Shore.)  So on roughly May 24th--the day after Jeremy asked me to marry him--it dawned on me that when we got married, I would have a new last name.  So long puns that had been a part of my 23 years of life so far!  =[

Luckily, my friends were looking out for me and fought for the life of these puns.  One friend said, "Well, now when people ask you how marriage is going, you can say, 'I'm not Shore anymore."  (This is like that part of the movie where you think to yourself, "OOH! I found it! THIS is where the title is from! Or, at least, that's what I do...)  Also, my new initials would be S.E.T. so I pointed out that I'd be SET for life! The puns would live on!  =]

So now, after 373 days of marriage, I can definitely say I'm not Shore anymore, but that would not at all be my response if someone asked me what marriage is like or how it is going.  Being married is spectacular.  Yes, I don't have to drive home across town after saying goodnight, and yes, we enjoy all the general perks of being married, but the greatest thing is just being a family.

I was thinking about this quite a bit yesterday while doing what most people would call life's mundane activities.  We washed both cars, did some yard work and landscaping, did about seven loads of laundry, washed all the dishes, and went to the store, all after volunteering and going to mass. I was quite proud of our domestic achievements!  And I realized, all these little things make us a family.  We shop to nourish our bodies; we go to mass to nourish our souls; we take pride in our home so we care for our house and our lawn.  All these things remind me that I have a beautiful little family that loves me, and a God who made us and brought us all together.  I reflected on the blessings that surround us and that have abounded in our short year of marriage.  We thought that eventually we'd buy a house, on down the road at some point, but we were able to find one that we love almost right away, and now we're homeowners within our first year or marriage.  We made a precious baby boy and celebrated our one-year anniversary at the beach with our three-month-old.  Life can't get much better than that.

So, while I think about our little family, I rejoice and I thank God that, while I'm still Shore at heart--and I'll always be MY mommy and daddy's little girl--that I'm Not Shore Anymore.

Happy one year and 8 days, dear husband of mine, and I look forward to many more days, months, and years to come!