David and Jennilyn

I normally can’t stand to get into costume for Halloween. I don’t like attracting attention myself. However, being married to a wonderful woman who celebrates everything big and small, I’ve at least made attempts to be in costume since saying “I do.”

My favorite costume, until this year, has been my Clark Kent costume. I had a Superman shirt nearly covered up with a dress shirt and a pair of glasses without the optics. It was subtle and easy to dance in (which was very important at the time and an extraordinary combination).

I remember seeing some Iron Man toys at Fred Meyers and got the idea to be yet another alter ego: Tony Stark. I was still hesitant to dress up this year, but by a threat encouragement from said wonderful wife, I splurged on some toys to get me to look like Tony Stark. It was a lot more fun than I thought, though I can only keep the glove on for short periods of time—the box said for kids four and up. They probably didn’t design it for a thirty-two year old photoshopper in mind.

Yeah, I can shoot laser beams.

We attended a vow renewal ceremony for our friends Livio and Alex at the Abernathy Gardens. What I enjoy most about weddings is seeing how two people commit to each other and confess their love publicly. It is a moment when I also pause to think of the vows I made five years ago.

I didn’t fully comprehend the significance of the promise made on that day until my wedding rehearsal. I was surprised that I was getting choked up looking at Jennilyn as we stood at the altar practicing our vows.

She thought I wasn’t looking at her in the eye because I was distracted by people in the sanctuary, but in reality, I was trying to hide that I was so happy that I was crying.