A continuation of the series...True Confessions of a Mother of the Bride.
My last blog post about Brianna's wedding was about my "ex-family"...and well, just how nice it was to see them and share in the joy of the occasion. So, now, let's segway, into my present family.....
Husband past (Doug on left), with husband present (Eric on right)
Let's start with the siblings (and their children)
I come from a relatively large (by today's standards) Catholic family. I have two older brothers, and two older sisters. (I'm the baby of the family, which for those of you who know me should explain a lot...but that's a whole 'nother blog post.) So..back to the sibs. My oldest brother Eric, who lives in Chicago, wasn't able to make it to the wedding and we missed him, but my brother Chad and his partner Doug came up. And what a godsend they were. Even though we had a day-of-coordinator for the wedding, I really needed someone I could trust to set-up the reception site, including the centerpieces, candy buffet, cake table, guest book table, and gift table. This was no easy task, because each table was to be individual and unique. I knew I could trust Chad... and bless his heart...he and Doug, were up before the birds with suits on and out to the reception site making sure everything looked just right. They did an amazing job, and then rushed back to the church in time to take photos and help keep the mother-of-the-bride relatively calm.
My sister Laura, also made it to the reception, and this was no small feat. She drove from the far eastern corner of Oregon all the way to Seattle. En route she had not one...not two...but three, yes THREE flat tires...in the middle of nowhere. Thank God for the good samaritans and Les Schwab grease monkeys who helped her out and got her back on the road. She finally rolled in around midnight the night before the wedding....talk about determination! I had been worried about her driving that far, so was very relieved, and happy when I finally saw her the next morning.
My other sister Karen, had a stroke about a month and a half before the wedding. She wanted so badly to make it, but she was still too weak to make the trip. Instead, all three of her children and their spouses came up. Major road construction on I-5 meant they had to get up at 2:30 am in order to make it in time for the 10:00 am wedding. They made it to Seattle around 8:00 am, in time to have breakfast with their Aunt Laurie before the wedding. When I came down to the lobby of the hotel before heading out to the church, I saw them all gathered around the lobby and a tear jumped to my eye. It touched me so that they all made it...Michelle, Luke, little Jo, Jack, Patty, Ashley, and Chris...all of them.
Chad and Doug...couldn't have done it without them!
Look at the candy buffet Chad and Doug put together....incredible, isn't it?
Daughter Piper, niece Ashley, niece Patty, bride Brianna, daughter Sara, Mother-of-the-Bride.
My daughters:
My daughters...all so very, very, very different. And all so amazing. Brianna was a very calm bride. She stressed and worried before the wedding, but when the weekend arrived, she approached it with calm, letting others take on any worries, so she could focus on enjoying this moment in her life...and that's how a bride should be. Jessica, Sara, and Piper...all there to support their sister, share her joy, and celebrate family. They were all beautiful. All supportive and helpful. I was so proud of them all. And...a special shout-out to son-in-law Jesse. He was so helpful..doing things that I didn't even know about until weeks after the wedding to help out.
Aunt Laurie with Jessica.
My rock aka: my husband:
Eric arrived on Friday morning with loads of wedding paraphernalia, two daughters, a son-in-law and a dog. He spent the next two and a half days helping me in every way imaginable, keeping me calm, solving any problem that came up, holding my hand, making sure I ate, schlepping more stuff than anyone can possibly imagine...and just letting me be crabby when I needed to, crying when I couldn't hold back the emotions, and being peacefully happy at then end of it all. He made sure that everyone else had what they needed, stepping in to help, so others could just enjoy the weekend.
The morning after the wedding, Eric had volunteered to drive Sara to the airport (see, yet again, being the helpful guy that he is). As we dropped Sara off, the three of us stood at the curb saying our goodbyes. Never one for outward signs of affection, Sara gave me a hug, and then said, loud enough so Eric could hear her, "Eric was a good bitch for you this weekend, Mom." and then she hugged Eric goodbye. Now, if you know Sara, you'll know that she just gave Eric the supreme compliment. He laughed and hugged her goodbye, smiling and bragging aftewards that he got a compliment from Sara.
Eric and I at the reception. He looks so good in a tux!
The parents:
The one thing that did sadden me on this weekend, was that my Mom and Dad weren't here. Dad's been gone for many years...he never even had the chance to walk me down the aisle, let alone watch a grandchild's wedding. And Mom, well, she's only been gone a little over a year. She would have loved this wedding. The beautifully historic Catholic church, the mass, and Ave Maria being sung after communion. I cried for them both at the wedding, I cried for me missing them...but I took comfort in the thought that the two of them were in heaven with front-row seats to it all, holding hands, smiling, looking at their children and grandchildren, and knowing they had done their job well.
Mom and Dad weren't there in person, but they were there in spirit. The cake topper is the original one from their wedding and their wedding photo sits by the cake.
Whenever I count my blessings...I count my family twice. A perfect family, no they're not, but then whose is? We are all gloriously dysfunctional in our own way. We have our foibles. We have spats. We have differences. But, we are family, with a strong undercurrent of love. And on this particular weekend, I could hardly contain my love for them all.
i am so full of happiness for you. i know just how you felt what a great family we have!!!! we are so blessed good to hear the ex and his new family got along with everyone now for some grand babies i can see eric making sure he is number1 grandpa casey always tries this with jo. tnothing is too good for his girl! play house plans are swurling around hisbrain already that's a man for ya.xxoo karen i loved reading all about the beautiful wedding.
Posted by: karen | May 11, 2010 at 06:56 PM
it was SO great to be apart of Brianna's special day. Jack said thanks for ALL the bacon. ha!
Posted by: Patty Stephens | May 11, 2010 at 07:21 PM