First of all, Happy New Year everyone. I hope your holiday season was fun and filled with good times. The Gish Christmas went as expected: Jack got lots of gifts and the rest of us enjoyed his holiday enthusiasm. Of course, our 7-month-old, Kate, is a little too young to get into the whole Christmas thing yet, but her time will come.

Some local folks started off the new year in a unique way and I enjoyed being there to see it. A group of 30 or so people camped out at the Loose Park office overnight Monday in freezing cold temperatures. It looked like something that would happen on Black Friday. However, these hearty souls weren't shoppers... they were there for love.

Tuesday was the first day couples could reserve a spot in the Rose Garden at Kansas city's Loose Park for a wedding. If you've ever visited the garden, you know why it's a very popular spot to get hitched. With all the flowers blooming, it's simply beautiful. It's first come, first served for wedding reservations so bundled brides-to-be (and some grooms) started showing up at 8:30 Monday night to be first in line Tuesday morning. Yes, these people were hardcore.

The saddest moment of the morning happened right way. Shockingly, the first couple in line didn't get the day they wanted. How could that happen?? Well, some days throughout the year are unavailable because of other events in the park and after the couple had waited for nearly 12 hours, they found out the day they had already booked the reception hall, the caterer, etc. wasn't an option. Anyone who has been through the stresses of wedding planning couldn't help but feel for the young couple as they tried to figure out what to do. They picked another date and told me if they couldn't move all the other things like the reception to the new day, they'd have their wedding somewhere else.

It was much better news for the other early birds. They nervously approached the table when their number was called and many yelped in joy when they found out their day was available. You could see the relief in their faces as they walked out the door... one more wedding mission accomplished.

Marriage isn't easy sometimes, but if you can survive a cold night with no sleep to try to start things off on the right foot, you just might make it through the minefields of married life.