It's Monday which can only mean one thing. Snow Day-ha! Sad, but true. Only we don't have snow (yet), instead its been raining ice all morning, which is as delightful as it sounds. No worries though, there's supposed to be a little bit of snow to go with, sometime later today.
Snow Days do allow me to catch up on my blog, so there's always a bright side. I've been mulling this post over in my head all month. One I'm most anxious to record, but don't know where to begin.
How about here...people who need people are the luckiest people in the world.
I count myself one of the lucky ones.
Sometimes when I'm on Facebook I imagine having all the friends from all the different seasons of our lives together in one place, and essentially that happened. Not every single friend was present of course, but so many who are near and dear to our hearts were there to celebrate with us, to mark the day and this milestone in our lives.
First comes family. Hubs and I are from two different parts of the country and as such, opportunities to have both sides of our families together in the same place at the same time have been few and far between in the thirty+ years we've been married. It was so much fun to have all our siblings, parents, the girls' cousins, even my uncle who came all the way from Arizona, in the same zip code for one whole complete entire weekend. My girls have always felt so well loved by all their many aunts and uncles, and their grandparents think they hung the moon. Blessed is how I feel when it comes to my family, the one I was born into and the one I married in to.
If you read here regularly you know we get around. We've lived in two countries, five states, and eight cities in our married life, and along the way we've made some very precious friends. Hubs has worked for the same company for thirty years so there are the work peeps, who are so much more than colleagues. Some of his co-workers are among our very best friends.
The bride's first real friend (aside from her sister and cousin) was also there on the day. These little cuties met on the first day of preschool over 23 years ago, and even though we moved from NJ to Maryland when they were only six years old, our families are still in touch. Her parents and sister came too. And the girl's husbands because the thing you need to know is little girls grow up and get married, but when you look at them you sometimes still see this.
The Maryland crew. We spent nine happy years in Maryland, living in the sweetest little cul-de-sac, sharing life with the nicest friends and neighbors you could ever wish for. The only pictures I have are those people have shared with me, so although I know it probably feels like I couldn't possibly have omitted anyone or anything, not everyone is represented here.
We all have daughters (there are sons too!) about the same age, and we're enjoying this new season of celebrating young adult success, college graduations, new jobs, new cities, and wedding bells as they ring. Here's something-
January 1996.
January 2015.
I know! It may be blurry, but still it makes my heart sing. Speaking of making my heart sing-
..this picture and these people.
England.
Some of the most special people we know. This photo is missing several faces who were there for the weekend, but had early flights to catch on Sunday morning which is when this picture was taken. They traveled from Georgia and Texas and California and London and even Ireland via Prince Edward Island. I'd explain, but it would take a lot of words, and the important thing is they were there.
Miles y'all.
Miles and miles.
Daughter1 was so happy to have some of her friends from high school at her wedding. It's something the average American graduate might take for granted, but when you've gone to high school in another country, reunions are not a regular occurrence. In fact they're pretty rare. Your friends are spread out all over the world so acutal face time with them is a gift you don't take lightly.
And that 'boy' on the end? Yes I know he's a grown man with a lovely wife seated in front of him, and three kids of his own now, but to hubs and I he's something like an adopted son. He introduced our family to Young Life. Was the very first YL leader our International School ever had, and he literally helped set our bride on the path she is walking today.
He spent every Thursday night at our house back in 2005/06, playing crazy games and logging hour upon hour of heart-to-hearts with a gaggle of high schoolers about life and God, and how one needs the other in this upside down world we call home. He coached daughter2 in swimming and accompanied her to meets in Paris and Cairo, spent long hours on a bus filled with not-sleepy teenagers, including my own, as they traveled through the mountains of Transylvania to a service project in Romania. He ate an American Thanksgiving dinner in our English home, and I could go on and on but you get the idea. I hadn't seen him in person in nine years, and I can't tell you how very much it meant to all of us to have him there, sharing in our daughter's big day.
And finally there is this. These people.
Our people.
The college friends. People who knew hubs and I before we were Mr. and Mrs. People who have known us more than half our lives. Fraternity brothers, the groomsmen in our own wedding, sisters at heart, part of us. People who, no matter the days or the miles in between, can pick right up again like it's still 1980-something. They love us where we are, for who we are, and for all we've been together. Having them by our side on this day of all days, was the icing on the proverbial four-tiered wedding cake.
I wish I could write about and post pictures of everyone who made the trek south, north, east and west to be with us on January 3rd. Every friend and family member who interrupted their post-holiday relaxation to navigate crowded airports and busy highways. All who have encouraged, loved, prayed for, and grown up with, our little family of four, now five. Each and every person who was there holds a special place in our memory and in our hearts.
Did I tell you it was the best day ever?
It really was.
