Wedding Aftermath

Well, this past week has just flown by and I don't think I've accomplished very much. It's almost like I was on overload, moving so fast for so long to get to this wedding, that now I that I slowed down a little, I can't get myself moving! Well, that all has to end now - my house needs a complete overhaul, there's taxes to do, my main computer's still broken, and on and on and on. We'll get these kids off to their honeymoon tomorrow, then let the mundane process of re-doing begin - it seems like the house is really quiet and slow moving these days. Our out of town guests have all travelled back to their respective homes, and the hustle and bustle of all things wedding has ceased. I certainly realized alot while working with many different people for a large event like this and may I just say, it saddens me greatly that our society as a whole has become the kind of people we are. But I can only change and work on my corner of the world, so I hope I will take what I have seen and make effort to ensure that my life doesn't exude any of those offensive qualities I have observed in this process. That old saying, "all that glitters isn't gold" comes to mind. So we'll see what's on this new horizon - I've made several pieces of jewelry for sale in my shop (since my inventory was very depleted), did a good cleaning there (it needed it, too), and have been working more with our dog - he's not been feeling well and has required a trip to the vet and a trip for the vet to come to our house. He appears to be feeling better, so that's good. And now I'm just rambling, so I'll quit. Everything's slowly getting back to normal - thanks again to all of you who helped out with this event which consumed my life for awhile - it was a huge success and I'm very grateful to all of you who helped make it one.

P.S. I did it!

P.S. I may have just figured out how to share some pics - here's the bride and groom!

I survived!

Yep - the biggest even in Peoria this year (lol!) has come and gone - and I survived. During the preparation process, though, my printer, my computer, and my camera didn't - although the printer is still printing some and the camera appears to be taking pictures again - but the computer is CRASHED! So, I'm trying to blog on my laptop and am very unfamiliar with working with pictures on here, so it may just be blogging words for awhile - we'll see. Since my camera wasn't working Saturday, I have no pictures of the actual wedding of my own to share and since I don't know how to "steal" them on my laptop like I do on my desktop, I only have this picture of the happy couple a few days after the wedding at a cookout to share. I'm sure an informative call from my smarter brothers will help solve the situation though! Suffice it to say, in my opinion, the wedding was wonderful. It was filled with personal touches of the bride and groom and one of the outstanding highlights was the groom singing to the bride as she came down the aisle on the arms of her older and younger brothers - there didn't appear to be too many dry eyes in the place. A big thanks to all those who helped set up, who over this past year have cut out guitars, stuffed favor bags, bagged up chocolate guitars, tied ribbons on fish bowls, put labels on cd cases, printed out pictures of musicians, made pew bows, and on and on - thank you so much for all your love and support and assistance. As Hillary would say, "it takes an entire village to raise a child" - I would only add, and a whole stinking county to get them married!

Here we go!

Well...this is it. After months of planning and purchasing and decision making and dress altering and on and on - it's finally here. Tomorrow begins the weekend of my daughter's wedding. So much activity and chaos make it hard to decipher what's really happening inside my heart and mind but I think it's a mixture of being sad she's leaving my home and being happy she's grown up to be such a fine young woman and being excited to add Patrick and his family to our family and many more mushed up things just waiting to pop out whenever they have the chance. I really intended to force myself to have a "meltdown" today because I was afraid if I didn't break down before the actual wedding ceremony, I would really "boo-hoo" then - but I was so busy today trying to get things done I wasn't able to take the time to sort through enough to let it happen. So I'm not sure - perhaps I will be so caught up in enjoying the moment I won't cry until later. Be assured it will happen - just seeing my three kids come down that aisle together will bring tears and tons of emotion, I know it will! So thus starts the next leg of the journey. What will it hold? I don't know - I only know this - during this time of getting ready for Mal's wedding I have begun to look at circumstances and people differently and have finally been able to set some much needed boundaries in my life. I expect that will make things different in the future.

Rock show time!

Went to the rock show in Macomb Saturday after work - needed a little break from all things wedding plus I needed a few things for my jewelry for the wedding. A nice day for a ride - rode in someone's new vehicle where, by the way, the back seat (where we short people sit) sets higher than the front seat, so for the first time, I could really see the world out the front window from the back seat - superfluous for most of you, but fun for me! Side bar - it was a little tricky getting in and out - mostly in - because its so high my knee was at my nose - well, you get the picture - it wasn't pretty! Anyway, the rock show was wonderful - there is one vendor who doesn't come to the other shows in this area and they always have nice stuff - I picked up a wedding gift for another upcoming wedding in April, and a few little stones to put in my new wood bowl I got as a birthday present. There were also some beading suppliers there this time, which was wonderful - I got what I needed to make my jewelry for the weekend, and got some more stuff to make necklaces to sell in the shop. Burger King was good, ice cream at McDonald's - Dairy Queen in Canton has closed - we didn't know! All in all, a beautiful day and a nice break from the reeling that is happening in my mind to make sure I don't forget something.

It's closing in!

Mal's big day is on the horizon! In just a few days this chaotic, loud, busy, messy house will become more chaotic, louder, busier and more messy (I anticipate, at least, that it will get worse before it gets better!) as people from out of town arrive and last minute preparations are made. It's quite a time for reflection, challenges (printer had a glitch, computer has crashed) and has been such an opportunity to see people for who they really are - most of that is sadness, I'm afraid. In our society today, people are pretty much involved in their own selves - commitment means nothing, loyalty means nothing, honesty is not honored - I sound like my grandma used to as she spoke about how our world was turning, but after living my 52 years, I have to say, I now understand what she meant. No longer do we all live by the same standards - there used to appear to be a certain line, albeit unspoken perhaps, but a line of honesty and integrity that people didn't cross - you could take your lunch to work, put it in the refrigerator, and not have to worry that someone else would take it; you could ask someone to do something and if they said they would, their word was their bond - you could count on it. Hmmm. Anyway, all of that pales in comparison to the joy of seeing my little girl become a beautiful bride (and she is beautiful, if I do say so myself!). Amidst all the hub bub of planning and doing, God is doing a new thing - the beginning of a new family that will be Mallory and Patrick. They'll be an extension of their families of origin, of course, but they will live in their own house, make their own decisions, (and their own food - lol!) and make a turn on the path in the journeys of their lives. And with that, all of us who are intricately involved in their lives will take a turn on our paths, too - we'll readjust and see what's ahead in our journeys. It's an honor to be a part of that. So if I don't get back to blogging in the next week, you'll know why - there will be plenty to tell afterwards and some pictures if my computer gets fixed - pray for a nice sunshiney day for my little one to start her new life next Saturday.

All things wedding!

If you walked through my house right now, it would be like walking through a labryinth or a maze. There's boxes of wedding and reception stuff literally EVERYWHERE! What fun! The wedding is just two weeks from today and is consuming most of my thoughts and energy and time. It has been such a privilege to be involved in this wonderful event. Weddings (or any big event that requires you to work with and interact with other people) provide a myriad of opportunities for biting your tongue (to keep snide remarks from passing through your lips), restraining your fingers from typing (such as stopping yourself from commenting on facebook), or perhaps just driving your car across town and running over someone - ok, just kidding on that last one! Seriously, though, helping plan this wedding has given me ample opportunities to take the high road and be kind - when others weren't kind to me, be gracious - when others weren't dependable, be thoughtful - when others had no thought for my feelings. Oh, there's been times when I've said, "hey - enough!" But overall, it feels good, whether anyone besides me knows it or not, when I've sacrificed and done something kind for another person. Plans are moving along, last minute touches are being applied - here's a couple pictures of the some of the younger members of the wedding party decorating their shoes. Lots of fun memories have occurred. I think I like it that I won't have to look back and wish I wouldn't have reacted to someone or something in a negative manner.