On this day...a long post

(Our son looking out over Lake Superior)

Our weekend has been and gone and it was the best damn weekend regardless of the stress and the overwhelming amount of things going on. There is just WAY too much to talk about and my post would be pages long with all the details so I will make this as short and sweet as possible although we all know how that usually goes.

(the wedding party)

Heck, I don't even know how to sum all the events up except to say they all went very smoothly and absolutely perfect. Our son's field trip was a lot of fun--we were on a very tight schedule there so you know when you get in that mode of rush around so you can see everything....from 10:00am until 2:30 this is exactly what it was like.

We went to the zoo first...I always have a pang of sadness when I visit the zoo...those poor animals being confined like that for my enjoyment but that grizzly bear sure was cool gnawing on a huge bone....then we went on to the Depot. P loves that place and our son had a great time running around the different trains on display....it is a pretty nifty place though. Then my least favorite part of the trip....the Harbor Cruise. I was fine while we circled around the harbor but then we went under the draw bridge onto Lake Superior....I love to photograph that lake and to sit and listen to the huge waves crashing on shore but for some reason, that lake scares the crap out of me. Needless to say, while we were outside the harbor, I was white knuckling that railing silently begging for us to go back! Of course here I sit and am just fine but all the same...

It was after the cruise that we had to shift gears and head to the wedding....we said goodbye to our son and were off to the races. Already running 15 minutes behind schedule, we hit the road construction....that set us back another half hour. I swear, everytime I looked at the clock two hours had passed because the clock seemed to be moving and we just couldn't seem to get nearer our destination...time was moving while our wheels turned in place. I put my make-up on as we waited for traffic..stop and go is not the best situation for putting on eyeliner and mascara and it doesn't help that I'm not one to normally wear make-up.

P knew I was freaking out, he handled me really well because he knew how badly I didn't want to be late..he didn't either but he was the realistic one who kept talking reason. Usually that's my job with him and I but not that day! He was setting all time driving records with me in the passenger seat..normally I'm telling him to slow down or asking what the hurry is...not this time. In fact I was secretly hoping some car would pass us going 90 so P could go the 'speed of traffic' as he always likes to tell me.

We had to squeeze in time to get gas--I thought I had put enough in for the day--plus we both needed to get dressed and were 45 minutes behind. Our original plan was to stop at the gas station and then hit a rest stop so we could both get ready...this just didn't cut it considering. So I mentioned getting dressed at the gas station while we got gas....P thought this was a great idea and then made it even better...he said he would get dressed while I pumped the gas and then I could get ready in the car as we drove .... Brilliant! I'm not much of a primper, my hair was already wind blown, my make-up was half assed, getting dressed in the car was no big deal. There was only one problem...I had to pee! How would we solve that?

We got to the station, I finished pumping the gas before Pat was done getting ready so I was going to quick run to the bathroom...only problem was there was only one....Argh! So I opted to just will my bladder to grow and would go once we got to our daughters wedding and hour or two later. Thank God I fish and am able to do this! LOL Pat thought I was being silly and told me to go quick...well, I went to go and there were two people in line....FORGET IT! We had to get on the road.

Well, going to the bathroom was soon forgotten as I got dressed. Then I couldn't find my earrings...they fell off the hanger....shit! Ok, well, no big deal but P was freaking out about that more than I was. LOL I finally did find them after climbing to the back, in my dress between the two seats....then back up front....and to the back again because I forgot to grab P's cinnamon roll he wanted....wow.

Finally when I could sit and do nothing but watch the minutes tick by faster and faster, we discussed the route we would take to the wedding. Of course the destination was not just off the highway we were on but on what seemed like the other side of the world. P was going to drive past our house and hook up with the usual route we take on any other day but I suggested another route because we would have been backtracking. It saved only about six minutes but hey, six minutes is six minutes. We had already shaved about 15-20 off the main drive on the highway....

We arrived 15 minutes before the ceremony was to start...from that point on, everything what a sea of chaos and rushing around and trying to find our heads....thankfully the judge who married our daughter was laid back and was in no hurry to get the ceremony started so in the end, that 45 minutes of time we lost was won back thanks to photos being taken, other people arriving late from the cities, and conversations with the guests. The judge was GREAT! He not only performed a very nice and memorable ceremony but he also told me he thought I was our daughter's sister....I gave him a pat on the shoulder and told him I really really liked him! LOL

In the end, the day was a blur of activity from 4:30am all the way until about 10:30pm when we got home. The kids did a fantastic job throwing this wedding together and there were so many others out there who donated this and that and brought food.....it was just one hell of a wedding. Our daughter looked stunning, her hubby looked handsome and our other daughters looked beautiful. Our little WeeMan was cute as could be in his little vest, dress shirt/pants and tie but the poor little guy was so tired...he had a big day.

I would hope that next time we will have more time to prepare for such an event but it's also comforting to know that we can pull something of this magnitude together on a whim and have it be a smashing success. Everyone had a great time, food was good and plenty, the cake lady who made the cake did an outstanding job...all the things we ordered on Craigslist from different people.......it all matched. The thing that stuck the most with me were the unity candles for two reasons. First, the single candle had a saying on it, I had no idea--we ordered it from Craigslist and couldn't see what it said.....but on it it said, "On this day I will marry my friend; the one I laugh with, live for, dream with, love." That was the saying that P and I had on our wedding invitations all those years ago and one that I have always loved so very much. When I saw what it said I swore my daughter would think I chose that on purpose...not so. The second thing that struck me....one of the taper candles refused to blow out. It was windy up on that hill and the judge said we would be lucky if the unity candle would stay lit let alone the two side candles. The one side candle refused to stay lit while the other kept burning throughout the ceremony. When the kids went to light the unity candle, that too stayed lit.....I told my daughter the day after the wedding that I thought her grandpa was there. She asked why I thought that....I told her that one candle that refused to go out was him....she said, "Mom, I was bawling my eyes out a couple days ago because I wished so bad that Grandpa was here so he could have been a part of our wedding......" I told her I thought he was.

Regardless of why that candle stayed lit, in our hearts we will always believe it was him and his stubborn will that made that candle stay lit....

The day was absolutely perfect! I don't think I would ever want to change a single moment ... not even the mad rush to prepare, squeeze in two kids events, or the race to the destination! Everything fell right into the place it was supposed to be!