vacation, part two

As I mentioned, we arrived very late Thursday night, after traveling all day. Shortly before we arrived, “Grandma C” as my kids know her, called to make sure we were all right. We are “one of the kids” and she checks on us just as she does her own, which we love. We weren’t far at that point, and when we finally got to the hotel, she was arriving in the lobby, no doubt watching for us. She sat with Little B and loved on him the way my own parents do while we checked in and unloaded all our junk. Miss C was sleeping soundly, at very long last.

My friend Bek was visiting another friend of hers 10 miles from there, and leaving the next morning, so we had a quick visit (around 11:30pm!), which was a real treat considering our homes are roughly 17 hours apart! After that, I settled into the incredibly nice hotel bed with about the best pillow in the world and slept soundly. Friday morning arrived way too soon, but at least I was rested.

The groom’s family consists of Grandma C, Grandaddy, Auntie A and Auntie T…each “auntie” has two kids, and my son was in heaven with four kids/cousins to play with. (Oh, and “Uncle E” is the groom…and yes, those abbreviations are for real life, not just my blog…how convenient!). Anyhow, Auntie A was headed out with her mom to work on the rehearsal dinner site, and I left my two kids and husband to play with her two kids and husband, giving me freedom to help out and no children to chase for a few hours. One of the tasks I had during this time was ironing several table cloths. It was interesting. At home, the only ironing I do is fabric for sewing. My husband does all the rest. But, table cloths are not exactly complicated (unless you count the hotel iron that had an auto-shut off every few minutes). And yet, as I ironed these large white pieces of fabric, I had the sense of washing the feet of someone I cared about. I felt humbled and honored to be serving E and his family in this small way. I used that time to pray for the bride and groom, and to pour love and blessing out onto them.

Around lunch time, we switched with our husbands and they finished setting up while we took our kids to eat and the rehearsal. That was pretty funny considering Miss C would have nothing to do with the wreath they wanted her to wear, and while she was great at dropping petals she insisted I hold her hand down the aisle. Everyone was a good sport and said if she didn’t seem willing to go down alone at the wedding, to just let it go and not force the issue (thank goodness they didn’t want me to walk with her…that was so not gonna happen!).

Of course, the day sped by and by the time we got finished it was almost time for the rehearsal dinner. After using an emergency sewing kit to replace one button and strengthen another for my husband, we were planning to pick up Happy Meals for our kids since it was impractical to find out what ingredients would be in the catered food. At this point, we learned that E was on his way to the hotel to iron his pants and shirt since the friends he was staying with did not have an iron. My husband offered to do the ironing. I had the same sense of washing E’s feet, though my husband was doing the washing this time. It was a sweet serving. I left for the meals, planning to pick him back up, but E arrived as I left, and he just caught a ride which was easier.

Other than chasing the kids around (mostly the husbands had the outdoors chasing job, but I did my share of keeping tabs, and we missed most of the lovely toasts/speeches that were given), it was a nice evening. I felt submersed in the loving arms of my extended family by choice.

Saturday dawned very beautiful, and I think the wedding was one of best I’ve ever attended. Miss C was a total champ; she slept until right before they needed her for pictures, and I slipped her dress on just in time (her “princess dress” that Grandma C made for her). While she was quite playful at times, she did manage to walk the aisle in style, wearing the wreath (but forgetting to drop petals), and without mommy to hold on to. I raced down the side aisle, banging a loud vent in my efforts to meet her at the front, but she refused to come to me, wandering a bit, almost returning to the back, and having E point her my way (she earned many adoring chuckles and I heard many comments later about how cute she was); finally she found her way to Grandma C’s arms and then to mine when we all stood for the bride. Little B walked down as a ring bearer, handsome as could be, with one of his “cousins”; they were spectacular, old enough to do their job perfectly. And later, the two of them danced at the reception for a long time (his mother and agree we’d both be very pleased if they get married someday).

E is an incredibly romantic man, and I wept during his toast to his new in-laws and his lovely bride. As in, my eyes would not stop leaking for several minutes. I could not be happier for him.

That night, the family all went to a nice, fun restaurant, and had a splendid time. Bedtime was very late as usual, but every moment of the day was worth it. We slept in then had a leisurely breakfast with the family before rushing to load the van and check out. As we checked out, it began to rain. So, we chatted and hung out in the lobby for a little bit, waiting for it to pass. Only, it didn’t pass. The sky fell out for about 80% of our drive home, making it take longer than it should by a couple of hours. But, even that was worth the lovely weekend. I came home feeling full and happy; and Grandma C called to check on us as we drove, then made sure we arrived home safely. We are definitely cared for.