Day 139: House Visitors

Brandon and I have been looking forward to this day for many, many months. His cousin, Phil, along with Phil's girlfriend, Megan, arrived in South Florida from the blistery early winter of Chicagoland just this afternoon!

Their arrival is special for many reasons. For one thing, this is the first time we are hosting overnight guests in our home as a married couple. Sure, the random friend has crashed on the couch after a gathering has gone too late into the night, but this is truly the first time since we got married (and hosted, oh, 11 or so people here) that we'll be truly having company.

My last post was all about fall cleaning. Well, that was all for Phil and Megan!

But even more important that this silly little milestone is the reason surrounding Phil and Megan's visit: the Bears game on Thursday night in Miami.

Brandon and I have been waiting for this day to arrive since we moved here over four years ago. The Bears just don't come to Miami that often, and, while we'd have been willing to travel to see a game, the closest the Bears ever came to us was Atlanta - a good 10-hour drive. So when we learned that our team was finally going to be in our area, we knew we had to do it big!

So Phil and Megan flew all the way from Chicago to join us at what will be Brandon's and my first-ever professional football game.

Now, the question remains: What does this have to do with being a newlywed, and why am I writing about it on what is supposed to be my newlywed blog?

Well, let's go back about 10 years, when Brandon and I first began dating. I was 17, and I'd been raised by two people who themselves were born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin. Of course, these two parents of mine were Packers fans. Please don't judge them too harshly. They only know what they were brought up believing, and, while they are horribly misguided in their football preferences, they are absolutely wonderful people. So, obviously, they raised me to be a Packers fan too, and I was one when Brandon and I began our relationship.

Brandon, of course, was a Bears fan and always had been. And he'd grown up in a household of boys to whom football was incredibly important. I figured out almost right away that I would not be a welcome addition to that family if I brought my Packers baggage with me. So, I let Brandon teach me about the greatest football team to ever play; and, as I learned, I began to see the light ever more clearly.

I converted to a Bears fan soon after this began, and I now credit Brandon's willingness to teach and my own willingness to learn with saving our young relationship.

Of course, I exaggerate slightly. But only slightly.