April 29

I don't even care if you judge me
I was 3 when Prince Charles and Princess Diana got married. I was 19 when she was tragically killed. I obviously don't remember the wedding, but I remember the sadness of her loss. When I visited London, I remember standing in front of Kensington Palace, where she lived when she passed away, and where all of the mourners left flowers and gifts.

 

I also visited St. Paul's Cathedral, where the 1981 Royal Wedding took place.

 

 Pretty sure these aren't the same angles, but the cathedral is the same. I promise.

When I heard about the woman who was strong enough to marry Diana's son, William, and be a part of that crazy life and be constantly compared to his mother, I thought, "Good for her." I didn't play into the hype of the wedding, I didn't even care to see it. I figured if I caught footage, that would be good enough. But then a few people were posting on Facebook about it last night and I thought, what the heck, I'll DVR it so that I can fast forward through the boring stuff.

When I got home from the gym and some errands this afternoon, I turned it on .... and proceeded to become freakishly involved in the mayhem. My heart was beating. I couldn't sit still. I could NOT wait to see her dress. I literally shouted, "Here she comes!" at the TV when she came out of her hotel and got into the car. When she arrived at Westminster Abbey, I got teary eyed when she got out of the car. She looked beautiful. And so composed. And I could not even imagine what was running through her head.

I proceeded to watch the [boring] wedding, still being blown away by the production and tradition of it all. This girl is 29. I'm 32. I would have passed out from all of that attention. And then I heard that Diana was 19 when she was married. How do these women do it?

A friend of mine (a guy) posted something on Facebook about how it was lame that people were going to watch it. He directed his status to the girls and how it would never be our wedding and so we should stop trying to imagine it's us. Honestly, I would never want this lifestyle. Ever. But I feel like the new Duchess handled it with such grace and poise. And for me (and others) to get so involved is not something that we should be judged about. Sure, there are many other tragedies that we probably should be focusing on. But why can't we watch and be amazed and feel mesmerized by the customs of other countries? To see traditions that have been alive for hundreds of years? To lose ourselves in another chapter in our generation of this royal family?

So to the haters: I feel bad for you. I feel bad that you don't allow yourself to get lost in the customs that are different than your own. I feel bad that your world is not open enough to be curious about how others might live. That you think that just because people watch things like this, it must mean that they only do so because they wish they could be that person.

I, for one, am glad that I DVR'd it.