Welcome back to ReAL Thoughts. Sorry for the hiatus, but I’ve been a little busy. Consequently, there’s going to be a few changes around here. You are no longer reading the nightly ramblings of a single college guy. You are now reading the nightly ramblings of a married graduate guy. This is where I would transfer from the “college” group at your local church, to the “young married” or “early career” groups, which ever you prefer, depending on the offerings of your particular brand of the Christian faith.

Tomorrow I start my first day of a new job. Am I nervous? I should be. But I haven’t thought about it at all, so I’m not. When the alarm goes off tomorrow I’ll wake up and stop being oblivious. Which means I’ve still got eight hours of bliss.

I’m a college graduate. 3 1/2 years of college education and now I can join the real world. Of course it doesn’t feel like it. Due to the circumstances of the past three weeks I didn’t go through the graduation ceremony. I’ll do that in the spring. So it feels rather anticlimactic. But it’ll sink in. I’ve got a six month grace period before I have to pay loans back. Ah, six months of bliss.

I’m also married. That hasn’t sunk in either. Ever since the ceremony it’s felt like one long dream. I keep expecting to wake up and have it all be over. So far the coolest thing about being married is the ring. I’ve never worn a ring before. Except for that high school ring I wore for a few months sophomore year and then never wore again. But that doesn’t count. Since my wife (I’m still getting used to that phrase) put the ring on my finger I’ve forgotten it’s there; which sounds like a bad thing, but actually it’s not. It means I’m not self-conscious about the ring. Which I like. I keep checking with my pinky finger to make sure the ring is still there, and every time I see it I’m surprised. It’s kind of fun. Of course there are other perks to being married, but we’ll save those for another time.