What a great party!
Well, my cousin's daughter got hitched yesterday. The wedding was close family only, because both the bride's and groom's families are HUGE, but there were at least 300 people at the reception. And almost everybody was there. All ten of my grandmother's grandchildren (my first cousins) were in the same room at the same time for the first time since the last cousin got married, five years ago. A couple of spouses and a few kids were missing, but everyone else was there with bells on.
I wore a black, empire-waist, knee-length, A-line knit dress with Kimono sleeves, strappy silver they-look-fabulous-but-holy-cow-do-they-hurt wedges, and a red scarf/wrap I picked up in London. I'd been looking for something to wear for weeks, and ended up in a dress that I bought for myself for Christmas. Go figure. I just didn't want to look like frumpy, how-pathetic-is-it-that-she's-still-single cousin Kel.
The person who seemed happiest to see me, however, was a dear friend named Joe. He was probably about fifty when I was born, and without ever saying as much, he just sort of adopted me as an honorary granddaughter. Both of my grandfathers died before my parents met, so he was as much of one as I ever had (great-Uncle Lloyd wasn't around much when I was a kid), and I adored him. One of Joe's daughters is the mother of the bride, so he was there last night, and I was immediately engulfed in as huge a hug as I've ever gotten. Haven't seen him in at least a decade, so it was lovely to see him and his wife, Carol. We must have chatted for twenty minutes.
Danced a few country dances, visited with the cousins, and chased my own nieces around the room. I'd taken my jeans and comfy shoes to change into, because I volunteered to help with the cleanup, but it turns out that the wedding coordinator was in charge of that, too. The most I could do was take some presents back to my aunt's house -- along with my aunt and a cousin's daughter -- and help unload the presents from the cars and into the basement. Came home, groaned at the blisters on my feet (must find comfortable dancing shoes!), took some Tylenol and was out like a light in short order. (Slept for eleven hours!)
It was one of the best days ever.
I wore a black, empire-waist, knee-length, A-line knit dress with Kimono sleeves, strappy silver they-look-fabulous-but-holy-cow-do-they-hurt wedges, and a red scarf/wrap I picked up in London. I'd been looking for something to wear for weeks, and ended up in a dress that I bought for myself for Christmas. Go figure. I just didn't want to look like frumpy, how-pathetic-is-it-that-she's-still-single cousin Kel.
The person who seemed happiest to see me, however, was a dear friend named Joe. He was probably about fifty when I was born, and without ever saying as much, he just sort of adopted me as an honorary granddaughter. Both of my grandfathers died before my parents met, so he was as much of one as I ever had (great-Uncle Lloyd wasn't around much when I was a kid), and I adored him. One of Joe's daughters is the mother of the bride, so he was there last night, and I was immediately engulfed in as huge a hug as I've ever gotten. Haven't seen him in at least a decade, so it was lovely to see him and his wife, Carol. We must have chatted for twenty minutes.
Danced a few country dances, visited with the cousins, and chased my own nieces around the room. I'd taken my jeans and comfy shoes to change into, because I volunteered to help with the cleanup, but it turns out that the wedding coordinator was in charge of that, too. The most I could do was take some presents back to my aunt's house -- along with my aunt and a cousin's daughter -- and help unload the presents from the cars and into the basement. Came home, groaned at the blisters on my feet (must find comfortable dancing shoes!), took some Tylenol and was out like a light in short order. (Slept for eleven hours!)
It was one of the best days ever.