Wedding Wisting

Things are freakishly good right now with the hubs... a very good friend of mine is about to get married, and there's some super sweet chit chat going on at APW about wedding memories. So since I have no idea if I already wrote these things down or not, here's just a few things I will (hopefully) always remember... or at least, I remember after more than 2.5 years:

- my sister saying I looked like Alice in Wonderland peering around the trees, when i was looking for my prince waiting at the other end of the garden for our private moment
- crying the minute I saw him
- not crying from then on for the rest of the wedding day
- sinking my bare toes down into the sand and feeling the stress and excitement melt away into peace and joy
- discovering that my dad had put extreme amounts of thought into both our walk down the aisle and our first dance
- the impromptu addition of my sisters and dad to the laying on of hands my bridesmaids and mom did before i saw chris
- the nausea that permeated the morning prior to that moment
- getting the phone call from my brother in law who couldn't come on the way to get ready
- laughing laughing laughing at the ceremony
- chris's groomsmen beaming at me
- dom picking up my shoes and bringing them to me
- the flowers wilting and dunking them in the fountain to see if they'd revive
- listening to the party going on without us and kind of enjoying it
- the hug i got from my uncle
- the kiss on the cheek i got from ben
- the hugs i got from my cousin's daughter, and her saying i was the prettiest bride she'd ever seen
- stealing as many hors doeuvres as i could before we had to go sit for dinner
- trying to go talk to people while they ate dinner and not making it to more than 2 tables
- running out of sangria and ordering more
- dancing in the circle around the courtyard fountain with all my friends
- dancing dancing dancing in that white dress
- chris's dad dancing with me
- the perfect sunset
- the bubble bath explosion
- clearly choosing to give up the magical sheen surrounding us from getting married and go have brunch with my mom the next morning out of nowhere, as a gift to her.

and it occurs to me, for the first time since then, .... did we start the ceremony late? which is funny because i clearly clearly decided that time did not matter very early on that day... but now i'm curious.

Falling Together

Um this kind of never happens. Two posts in a day? I'm coping, ok? And here's a fresh off the press poem. Which means maybe it's in need of editing? But here it is. 

Falling is always the freest thing

Scary for what it leaves behind:

The solid footing you took for granted

When forming dreams in the sky.

The air is gray and crisp

And my fingers are tingling with the chill

Of October coming into town

My heart is aching with wonder

The distance between us is too much

The person there to care for you

Is driving away to beat the sunset

So we reach out into nothing

Locking eyes in our memories

Pretending not to be afraid

Hoping for a soft landing soon.

Creation - Addition

I can't share the book, but I can share the poem!

What Makes a Man

What makes a man?

Is it the glint in his eye-

The dreams he has when he is young

That turn to memories he does cherish

When he is older?

Perhaps the lives he touches

The teachers that mold him

And light his path,

The love he offers,

Friendship of wit and wisdom.

What makes a man?

The strength he carries

Through any storm,

The shelter of his care

He offers to his family

And all in need?

Is it the depth of his mind,

How he opens himself to the world

To take God’s splendors in

And learn from every day

A new revelation?

Is it his willingness

to board the boat of life,

charting waters new to all,

and ride its many waves

in order to see the enduring sunrises?

Lo, a man must be all of these things,

For my father is this man

Who dreams,

Who loves,

Who gives,

Who thinks,

Who journeys on.

Creation

My cat and I both have very large pupils. That's not relevant to the rest of the post. Just something I thought you should know. :)

Tomorrow is my dad's 80th birthday. I'm not sure I know anyone else my age who has a dad whose quite as old as mine. My dad had me when he was 51. That means that I have three half-siblings who are in their late 40s, early 50s. That blows my mind more than Dad being old. Dad's always been old.

So I knew I was going to write him a poem. At first, I thought I'd write a poem titled "What Makes a Life," but given that he's a tiny bit (and only a tiny bit) sensitive about this whole aging process... I decided that sounded too "looking back because there's nothing to look forward to" about it. Then I got the brilliant idea (thanks to mandie!) to make him a book using the poem as the text, and pictures of him throughout his life as the imagery. After 6 or 7 hours of labor, it is finished, ordered, and printing somewhere (thanks to the powers of Blurb). And, I am SO PROUD OF IT! I have had a love for putting images with art ever since working on a film in high school. I am actually surprised I didn't think of combining my poems with pictures until now. Lucky for Dad, he gets the first book. Clearly, future versions will make me famous!

Oh, and I wrote the poem around a slightly less morbid title: "What Makes a Man." Fingers crossed he forgives me for getting it together late (it will arrive about 2 weeks after the official birthday). We did technically celebrate the birthday in August with all the family. Which he reminded me of a week ago when I asked what the plans were. I'm hoping that the finished product is worth the wait. :)

I have had a great weekend! C and I had a great date night on Friday night. Saturday we had a lazy, romantic morning, and then went off to workout/work/be social. I was invited to see Paul Taylor Dance Company perform. Ohh, MAN, were they good! Three pieces, all totally different. All very beautiful and interesting and hard.

To continue my cultural enrichment, today C and I had comped tickets to the Symphony. We were both prepared for a struggle with falling asleep, since we usually tend to lose steam about halfway in to symphony concerts (if not earlier...). And, we have enough on our plates that we were kind of grumbling about having to go. We were SO wrong! The theme was technically Tchaikovsky, but really it was fantasy stories. Romeo and Juliet, a moving tribute to a composer's late younger brother, and a ridiculous violin-solo led piece from Bruchs. Engaging, compelling, and all of the pieces told a very easily visualized story. It was magnificent. I felt as though each of the composers was speaking a very personal truth through the hands and mouths of the symphony musicians, intended just for us. To to it all off, a very kind symphony patron took pity on us and bought us a coffee when she heard us talking about how we didn't have any cash, but really wanted caffeine.

So, the end result is that I am super happy, but I have not worked the number of hours I was supposed to, so I'm going to go eat dinner and then see what I have left in me before I keel over and need sleep. Good thing I am taking Thu and Fri off for the holiday (and since my mom will be in town!). Happy Turkey Day if I don't see you before then!