shamefully, this is my first post in more than six months. the real shame is how much life has moved and changed in that short period, and yet I have not been moved enough to document said shifting shadows. on january 1st, in a moonlit vineyard to the northeast of San Antonio Texas, Caleb Welty asked me to spend forever with him. i said yes with only a nano-second's hesitation, and that was purely for effect just in case anyone was watching. what i normally might fail to mention here (but am moved by my conscience to admit) is that i had - just 36 hours earlier - purchased the most breathtaking wedding dress in (prophetic?) anticipation of the inevitable proposal. all 'jumping the gun' aside, i was like a sponge so full up with love for Caleb Welty that it leaked from all sides and poured out into every other facet of my life. he was truly indescribable (and is, even to this day) and yet i labored in every telling of him, hoping to convey even a hint to family and friends of how he had transformed my existence. joyfully, i did not labor long. those who know me deeply saw immediately why he had captivated my mind (here i'll note that my heart was captured quite expiditiously - that was to be expected - but the mind is the real feat). fast forward to April 21. at home planning the last few details before the wedding, mom and i were as sick as they come and stuck miserably at home while everyone else (my dear fiance included) explored the riverwalk, ate good mexican and texas barbeque, and enjoyed texas in the spring. not that i'm bitter - i'd rather have been sick knowing everyone was happy, than been with them and had only a mediocre time.... texas in the spring is always hit-or-miss, and we hit it big time. the bluebonnets were bluer than i'd ever seen them, and their vast numbers formed oceans in the fields behind my parents' neighborhood. the rain that year proved to be a blessing in that it made for a greener than green spring, but it became a vice as we neared the big day with ominous clouds looming. what was once a midweek storm slowly became weekend dispair... developing....