I dreamt of a white wedding when I was a little girl. I would marry a handsome prince and live in a big house with a winding staircase in the entry and polished silver on the table. I would have beautiful children who played nice and practiced their piano.
I would live happily every after.
And I did.
Then came the after.
Today I was PACS'ed at the Tribunal d'Instance de Paris. Huh?
It was raining.
He wore a tuxedo shirt and bow tie. I wore an ivory silk blouse and boots. The judge (or whatever he was) wore a rugby shirt with "15" on the front, the hems of his jeans were frayed and his Nike's were slip-ons....yes it was a formal affair.
Becoming PACS'ed in France couldn't be less romantic. The poor gays who have to depend on only this to be married! At least we heterosexuals have a choice. But for a myriad of reasons that I sometimes have a hard time articulating, MFM and I decided to go the PACS'ed route to happily every after.
The process is purely procedural.
1 . Judge shuffles the papers in the red cardboard file.
2. Makes the obligatory comment that my birth name is different than my name on lots of other documents.........Duh! THAT name was from those "happily ever after days" don't you understand??
3. Moves directly to stamp stamp stamp on the bottom of official papers.
4. Presents us with the proof of what we have done and how we are joined followed immediately by the official paper explaining how we can undo what we have just done. Correct me if I am wrong but isn't there a line somewhere in my past about not undoing what God has joined together.........?
5. Search for an envelope in which to put official papers followed by search for our wet umbrellas.
Au revoir.
MFM stopped me on the steps and kissed me in the rain. I tried to figure out how I felt.
Will tell you when I do.
Hi Mary,
Congrats to you and Patrick on the official pacsing:) I guess it would be considering a civil ceremony here in the US. Probably not romatic as you say, but a very special and significant day for you. Do you change your name or are you still Mary Carey or even Mary Madok? I'm finally getting to Costa Rica next month. We cancelled our trip twice in the past...one because I had just started my business and the 2nd because my dad passed away just before we were supposed to go. Anyway this one is a go:)
Hugs Anita
Posted by: Anitam | January 27, 2011 at 12:42 AM
Wow! Tres Magnifique! So happy for you. It's been a while since you posted...but this one was worth the wait. Hope married life provides you with lots more to blog about! Lainey
Posted by: Lainey | January 27, 2011 at 03:02 AM
Thanks Lainey! So happy to hear from you and know that you are out there. I will try to be a better more regular blogger!
Posted by: mary | January 29, 2011 at 07:57 PM
Thanks Anita! I will remain Mary Carey, hard to leave that behind at the moment though it doesn't make a certain someone very happy.
Sounds like you are taking our honeymoon for us! Bon voyage in Costa Rica - have a pina colada for me! xoxoxo
Posted by: mary c | January 29, 2011 at 08:10 PM
Congrats on your marriage? Glad your happy and look forward to one day meeting Patrick. XO
Posted by: Rebecca | February 02, 2011 at 04:04 AM