"Physical realities require physical paperwork"

on becoming Catholic

Twelve years ago I was in the final stretch of wedding planning. I knew early on that my husband was special. He was steady and kind, manly but not pushy. We were young — babies really — in love, and I would have followed him pretty much anywhere.

Yet, when it came to actually making a commitment, I spooked a little. We bought my ring on the way back from a trip to the Denver Zoo. It was summer, so there was family in town and we’d met up with various cousins for the day. On our way home, his little red Toyota Corolla took the exit off of Hwy 36 and we stopped by the jeweler. We walked in and looked around, I tried some rings on, and we walked out with a wedding band and an engagement ring. I suppose you could say that we did it wrong — bucking the conventional method of the ring being a surprise — but full disclosure has always been the way this man operates. He wasn’t hiding his intentions, and while I loved him for that, it was kind of terrifying. I remember that when we got back t…