Happy West Virginia Day, everyone! First, by way of update for friends & family, Jason and I had a nice anniversary weekend. On Saturday evening we went to Joe Fazio's, which (for all of my in-laws out West) is a small, local Italian restaurant that is really popular in Charleston. It has always been one of my favorite places to go, and it is actually the restaurant that we ended up eating dinner at on the evening that we got engaged. Our dinner was amazing, the service was great, the food was delicious, etc. etc. When we got home around 9:00, I, most unfortunately, had to study for a little bit. At midnight though (making it our actual anniversary), we popped open a bottle of champagne, toasted to a wonderful year of marriage, ate a piece of wedding cake and watched our wedding ceremony on DVD. It was wonderful. Yesterday we had dinner at my parents to celebrate father's day, and we ate some more cake! So, all-in-all, it was a nice anniversary. It would have been nice to have gone on a mini-trip to celebrate, but there is always next year! Right now we are focused on saving money and me passing the bar so that we can COMPLETELY settle down somewhere in Charleston.
Now on to the real purpose of this brief post, it is the great state of West Virginia's birthday today! June 20, 1863. For those who know me well, I love my home state. I love seeing mountains in every direction that I look. In fact, when I don't, I feel extremely uncomfortable and oddly exposed - naked almost. I love the sense of togetherness that West Virginians feel with one another when gathered together for any particular reason. I love that, from what my brothers tell me (because I have basically never traveled or lived anywhere else for more than a week-long vacation), there are Mountaineers everywhere, with bars devoted to reunions and serving as a place to watch WVU games from out-of-state. I love going to weddings where all of the guests are swaying, arm in arm, and singing Country Roads. In fact, my brother, Justin, told me that the only time he got emotional at my wedding was when Country Roads was the song we chose as the last song. I love going to Mountaineer football and basketball games and seeing fans, no matter how tough they may be on a regular day in other situations, wearing their hearts on their WVU jerseys on game day. I love that Mountaineer sporting events bring grown men to tears because of the emotional rollercoaster that is being a die hard, life-long Mountaineer fan. Sure, there are times when I wish that I could move somewhere else, just to see what it is like, but I am a happy and proud resident of the wild and wonderful state of West Virginia. I was born here, and I will die here. I don't need anything else. I don't need to live in a booming and bustling city. I don't need a professional sports team - the Mountaineers are enough for me! I don't care about the opinions of uneducated (uneducated about WV, not in general) people who assume that I am just some random hillbilly who is married to a distant cousin and walks around barefoot. I do like to walk around barefoot, but, I assure you, Jason is not my cousin. I don't care if we are one of the poorest states in the country, and I don't care that we are one of the most obese states in the country. Well, let me modify that a bit. I want our state's wealth to improve, and I want the health of our citizens to improve, but not to impress anyone else - I want those things so that the future of West Virginia is as bright and determined as the past. Most of you probably don't know this, but on this date 3 years ago, I got "Montani Semper Liberi" tattooed on the side of my ribs. That might be a slightly extreme version of showing the love that I have for my state, but Mountaineers are Always Free. That saying gives me a sense of pride that occasionally brings tears to my eyes. I like being the underdog. I like taking people by surprise. I like being a part of something so special. So, as our boy Tony Caridi puts it best, it's a GREAT day to be a Mountaineer, wherever you may be! Cheers!
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