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{Real Bride: Katie} Keeping Stress in Check

Originally I had planned a completely different post this week about staying in shape on a budget (and I promise that post is still in the works), but instead I got distracted with some thoughts on handling stress. More specifically, people often want to know how we manage the stress of Mr. Officer’s job, and if I’m worried about marrying a police officer.

 Mr. Officer in Action
Photo via NY Daily News

Actually, this is a topic that Mr. Officer and I discussed long before we ever dated. In fact, I distinctly remember having a conversation with him when he was about one year into his job, in which he told me that he couldn’t see himself ever getting married or having a family because he didn’t want to put someone else through the stress of worrying about his safety.

Well I’m glad he abondoned that plan, but now I’m one of the people concerned with his safety so I’m going to level with you……it can be stressful. There have been a few scary incidents involving Brooklyn cops this year (exhibit A: this recent news story), and it’s always jarring to realize there are people out there that hate him just because of his job.

Now this is not to say that I sit at home every night, biting my nails and bracing for impact. In fact, Mr. Officer is really good at dissassociating his professional and personal lives, so most days I kind of forget what he does for a living. And seriously, sometimes the threat of physical danger isn’t as stressful as the general disdain that accompanies his job title. I mean let’s face it, police officers are not usually beloved among liberal-minded partygoers these days.

As backward as it may seem, I think the professional stress actually makes our relationship a little less stressful. We rarely argue (I know, I can almost feel the eye rolls as I write this), but honestly it’s hard to get into a huge blowout over cocktail napkins or floral arrangements when there are so many other things that I can worry about on a daily basis. It’s a little cheesy, but I love Garth Brooks’ song “If Tomorrow Never Comes”, because it pretty accurately summarizes our approach to marriage. Mr. Officer tells me all the time that as long as everything is fine with our relationship and families than he’s happy. You’ve got to admit it’s pretty hard to argue with that logic.

In the midst of all the wedding planning, I hope (nay, demand) that everyone takes a step back to lighten the mood with a kickass date night. That call to the caterer can wait until after margarita night, because you get to marry the person you love and life is good!

So now seems like a good time to get a stress relieving, dance party started. Go on and get down with your bad self…….I’ll even provide the tunes.  Maroon 5 – Moves Like Jagger