"Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others." Ayn Rand

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

No Apologies

You would think that with everything that has been going on in our lives, I'd have a lot to talk about. I truly do. But finding the time/energy/thought processes to do it is something else entirely. Tonight, I skipped baby puppy class to just ingest meds and chill out with the three dogs. Been alone since around 3 p.m. after Mrs. Maggie Roof stopped by to get our suitcases to use for their honeymoon cruise. She and I talked about the "letdown" that both of us are feeling after the wedding. There's lots for me to do around here, but I'm truly missing the wedding planning. :) It was a beautiful wedding, a beautiful party; it was just over so truly fast.

First and foremost, I'll talk about what didn't happen that day...my parents were not there. They called on eight days before, and said they couldn't come; my mom, who has been having constant pain, is scheduled for hip replacement surgery in mid-June. We all figured she'd medicate herself and come here and then go back home for surgery. Unfortunately, her body had other ideas.

They tried every way possible to get here. She can't fly on a plane. She can't sit in the car for all those hours from Florida to Maryland. She's tried every drug; they all made her loopy, but none took away the pain. Her heart hurt, our hearts hurt. She was trying to convey to me that if there was any way possible, she would be there. This wasn't something she had to explain. This is her only granddaughter, and if she could have been there, she would have been there. I immediately went into "joke" mode, to try and make her laugh, make her feel better. Didn't work. We both cried. Over the next few days, I tried to talk with them every day, to let them know what was going on, what we were doing. I wanted to include them, all the while wondering if I was making it worse by telling them everything. Sigh. It was ultimately a no win situation. We forged on; I tried calling every day, even if it was just for a minute.

I immediately regretted my decision to not hire a videographer. When I told Barbara what had happened, she immediately offered her and Randy's services to tape everything for us; she said that they had done it a bunch of times for family and friends. I was torn. These were my guests, and now I'm asking them to work? But I said yes anyway, in spite of my hesitation. I'm glad I did. These are two wonderful wonderful friends.

The wedding went off almost without a hitch. Richard, Roger and I got to the Civic Center early to set up the tables with table numbers, candles, etc. We found that instead of 19 tables of 6, 7 or 8, there were 20 tables of 6. Eeeeeeek. I had a mini-panic (because I didn't have COMPLETE CONTROL over the seating arrangement and couldn't micro-manage it to death). But in reality, the problem was fixed in about 30 minutes. I then rushed to the hair salon to get my hair done...I give it about a 75 out of 100. I would have liked it less pouffy, and probably should have had more hairspray (the wind tousled it immediately). Ah well, hindsight is always 20/20. RUSHED home from there, stopping to get Leah some nail polish remover, and ran upstairs to get dressed. It was starting to get hot, which I knew was going to wreck my hair (what a shock...and which is why I wished it was a winter wedding lol). Limo arrived early....it was actually a bus with a disco ceiling. The limo had broken down and they sent this instead, which was absolutely fine.

Got to the church and found the bridal party, who immediately offered me a Smirnoff Ice. Tempting, but I hadn't eaten a thing all day, and I didn't think it would be wise to imbibe. Headed back to the front of the church, and started seeing everyone. I was so emotional....so many people came from so very far away. Tears. Stop. Tears. Stop. Tears. Stop. Thank goodness I had grabbed one of Richard's hankies from the drawer before we left the house. It was awesome...I stood there and greeted people and listened to them tell me how beautiful I looked. I'm actually thinking of putting the dress back on next Sunday and standing at the back of the church. I liked the compliments. :)

Kevin walked me down the aisle to my seat; at that point, Martha and I stood to go up to the alter to light the candles that would be used later to light the unity candle. She was nervous, and we clasped hands and walked that LONG walk up to the top of the alter (it wasn't really long, just seemed that way in heels). We lit the candles, and turned and walked back towards our seats.

Now this part we had planned beforehand, but didnt' tell anybody. When we got back to our pews, we faced the front of the church, then turned towards each other, and high fived.

It got a laugh. (Oh, I live for the laugh, don't I?) I think it calmed her down a bit, and we both grinned from ear to ear.

The bridal party came in, all looking so handsome and beautiful. I actually was thinking "this is really happening". The flowers, red roses and white tulips, were in beautiful contrast to the bridesmaid's black dresses. The ushers had red rose boutonnieres to match.

Then Richard and Maggie appeared at the back of the church. Pachabel's Canon in D started to play (Maggie didn't want the bridal march). I saw her and her father, and immediately started crying. I choked it down, looked at Martha, and she started crying. We kind of did this back and forth crying thing; I'd get under control, and she'd start; she'd get under control, and I'd start.

Maggie looked so so beautiful. So, so happy. Richard's eyes were shining. Maggie was beaming.

The ceremony was over so quickly. I just wanted to sit there all day and watch these two people declare their love to each other and to God and to all of us for the rest of the day....I didn't want it to end. But it did. They marched back down the aisle as Mr. and Mrs. Roger Roof. Our hearts wanted to burst with happiness.

It was a beautiful beautiful wedding.

Tomorrow, I'll write about the reception. :)