Wedding highlights

Let me just say that the whole weekend was great from start to finish. There were no bad moments, at least that I could see! So, instead of trying to even summarize everything, I thought I'd write down some of my favorite moments. Not surprisingly,
many of those moments had to do with Emily and Nate.

At the rehearsal, my favorite moment(s) were when the minister asked Nate how he felt about managing the job of ringbearer, and he immediately said "I've done it before" in a very confident voice. Immediately Emily's hand shot up and she said "I've been a flower girl before too, so I know what to do. I'll help Ariana."

Another moment was when Nate saw the raspberry pink pillow and made a face that clearly communicated that NO WAY did he want to carry a pink pillow down the aisle. Kat immediately said "I don't want to see that face again! This is the pillow, and you're carrying it!" (or words to that effect)

At the rehearsal dinner, when the toasts began, we were all surprised when from over at the piano, Nate, with impeccable timing, ran his fingers down the keyboard from high to low notes, just as the person ended the toast offering his own personal punctuation mark to all the wonderful words that were being said.

I was proud of both kids as they met lots of new people over the weekend, and when introduced, shook hands and said "It's nice to meet you." They've had some good parenting!

Wedding morning dawned nice and sunny, contrary to all forecasts. That set the tone for the whole day of bright, sunny happiness, even when the clouds inevitably rolled in mid-day. It just didn't matter - it was warm and it didn't rain!

A highlight of the morning was a great boat ride down the length of Kezar Lake, with plenty of time for Em and Nate to steer the boat while sitting in Uncle Ben's lap. He taught them how to go in a tight circle and ride up and over the boat's wake, which utterly delighted them.

One at a time, every vendor showed up right when they were supposed to on Sat. (The tent and tables arrived Friday) A group effort led to the placement of linens, silverware and glasses. Emily, Nate and Ariana each helped under the supervision of Sarah, Kat, and me. The caterer arrived and we conferred; photos went off as scheduled; the florist delivered the gorgeous wedding flowers and rejuvenated Todd's bouteniere when the stem bent and broke. Pierce, the last minute guest of Ben's sister drove to North Conway to get the cake and delivered it with nary a mishap. He also filled all the coolers with ice and beer and other beverages. The D.J. arrived on schedule. Sarah had planned everything to the minute, it seemed.

Suddenly, it was time to head to the church. Highlights for me of the ceremony were almost so many I can't even list them all. But certainly walking down the aisle with Todd was a big highlight for me; seeing Sarah walk down the aisle on her godfather's arm and the look of great joy on both of their faces was a sight to behold. Kat was absolutely beautiful in her deep blue dress and carrying a phenomenal bouquet of deep pink and red roses and calla lillies.

I loved singing "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee" with Emily sharing my hymnal and singing her heart out. At the same time I could hear Sarah's beautiful voice leading all of us. The ceremony was one of the most beautiful I've ever attended. Sarah and Ben had adhered to a traditional format, but with a minister who knew both of them well, there was a high personal element in each segment of it. Most moving was what they called the Family Liturgy, where they stepped forward and faced all of us, sharing their feelings about our importance to them as they begin this new journey. Each of them teared up a bit, particularly when Ben read a paragraph remembering family members who were unable to be there, including each of their fathers and their remaining livintg grandmothers.

These weeks of planning were worth everything to see their faces when they were pronounced husband and wife! The final great moment was when Sarah and Ben joined hands to music of the recessional and as Sarah's took her first step down the steps, we realized that she had kicked off her shoes sometime early in the ceremony and was barefoot! The train of her dress swept over her shoes, revealing them up in front of the altar, and Kat calmly leaned over and picked them up and followed them down the steps, arm and arm with the best man.

At the reception, one of the highlights was dancing with Emily, who kept coming and asking me to dance. She is just such a sweetheart. She and Nate just danced and danced. True grandchildren of mine!

Throughout the weekend our two families kind of melted together in good food, good drink, good conversation and beautiful surroundings. It was great in every way. One of my final favorite moments of the evening was having Sarah say that the whole wedding had been everything she had wanted it to be. I say Amen to that!!

Notes from the Natural and Unnatural World

I know the nature lovers out there are dying to read about the bird population at my house. All year, the birds offer endless entertainment, and provide excellent opportunities to procrastinate. One of my most favorite activities in retirement is being able to stand with binoculars glued to my face looking at the birds out my kitchen window. And believe me, I can do that for HOURS!!

So - recent developments include a family of baby birds in the wren house and a family of chickadees in a birdhouse out back, complete with cheeping and parent birds flying in and out. Yesterday I saw a family of house sparrows, with the fledglings sitting in the forsythia, while the parents brought birdseed from the feeder to them.

Today featured a wren (I think it was) flying right at a squirrel and attacking it. You go girl, I cheered from the kitchen. Two birds came in view that were so fleeting that I couldn't be sure, but I thought they were yellow bellied sapsuckers.

And speaking of saps, I have been awakened by raucous conversations, campfires and last night the regular "thwack, thwack" of throwing a baseball against the back of the house and loud conversation by the new crop of renting students next door. On night one, I let it go; on night two, I called the police (1:30 a.m.) and last night, I hollered out the window "Will you guys shut up?" (at 11:50). Both the police and my shout were enough to put a stop to it. Those who remember my interaction with the guinea hens that used to waken us at 4:00 a.m. up in Bethlehem, will be able to picture me. The next step is to lob projectiles from my window . . . grenades anyone?

I've called the "Code Officer" who may or may not return my call. As I become increasingly sleep deprived, I become increasingly irrational. It's enough to make a person wish for heavy rain every night from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.....that would keep the saps and the suckers inside at least.

My Ever Dear Daughter

Two weeks from today, Sarah will be married. Yesterday I went to a brunch to celebrate Sarah and the joy she is experiencing and sharing with all of us. For the second time, in the last few months, I was asked to “share Sarah stories.” I end up telling the stories of how challenging she was to me as a baby/toddler, and some of her exploits. Those were all true stories, but reveal as much about me and my uncertainty as a parent as they reveal about her. Sarah’s always been a risk-taker, and as such, provoked a lot of anxiety in me, since I am more of a middle-of-the-roader.

Be all that as it may, I think that Sarah and I have had a close relationship over the years, and there are so many stories that I want to tell about Sarah but can’t, because I know I’ll just get choked up.

There are the stories of Sarah the giver. She has made her exquisite quilts for her friends’ babies and quilts for her friends as wedding presents. She has made quilts for me, and Todd and Kat, and Todd. She made a quilted wall-hanging for me for my 60th birthday which touched me so much, because she captured a place (Eckels cottage at Lake Winnisquam) which has had lots of great memories for me and embroidered on it a part of a poem, “The Peace of Wild Things,” by Wendell Berry, which revealed her deep knowledge of who I am.

She has knitted sweaters for all of her friends’ babies and for her beloved niece and nephew. She has knitted (and sometimes re-knitted) sweaters for me. She has made countless pumpkin and fruit hats for her friends’ babies. She has knitted sweaters for herself and her grandmother.

Sarah has been the friend everyone could call on to help move, to help pack up, to drive to a colonoscopy and stand by while brain surgery was being performed. She was the person to drive me to my skin cancer surgery, neither of us having any idea that at the end of the day, I would walk out of the hospital looking like Frankenstein. She stayed for several days, changing a bandage I couldn’t bear to touch. More than once she has been Sarah the caregiver. Most recently, coming immediately when my dad was dying, giving up a conference to be with me and help me get moved out of my classroom as I started retirement and dealt with dad’s death and supported my mom.

There’s Sarah the helper – the one who has shown up and mowed the lawn, planted flowers, made dinner, cleaned closets and encouraged me to get rid of the junk of my life which has a tendency to overwhelm me. She’s the one who has painted bedrooms and bathrooms and hallways with me. She’s the one who’s come to visit grammie and take her for a ride when I’m gone.

There’s Sarah the social activist who worries that what she’s done with her life hasn’t done enough to solve the world’s ills, though she has participated in benefit concerts and in her own recitals has raised money for battered women and for Greg Mortenson’s schools for girls. Through her own work ethic and patient teaching of voice lessons to students of all abilities and backgrounds, she has given the gifts of self confidence to those who might never have performed before. She has, herself, “made a joyful noise” and helped others to do the same, bringing beauty and harmony into a broken world.

There’s Sarah the writer, who has several novels in the drawer, and has been an excellent reader for me, and in one case a collaborator with me on an as yet unpublished gem!! Perhaps now that her life has taken a turn for the happier, she will be able to finish some of those “Chick Lit” stories which have featured young women seeking a good relationship!

There’s Sarah the reader. We’ve long traded books and recommendations for books, and have roughly the same taste in books. Sarah has kept a reading journal for years, something I have only done sporadically. Now she has vowed to get books from the library instead of buying them, we don’t trade books as much, but the recommendations just keep coming!!

This, though a long blog entry, just scratches of the surface of all the things I love about Sarah. These are the things I wish I could say when suddenly on the spot for “stories” about Sarah. No one will be happier than I on June 20th, when Sarah marries Ben. It’s her time to shine, and to share her gifts and talents, her loyalty and her love with someone who will love and cherish her.