Three Years Ago

Three years ago I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I was fretting over the fading foliage, the weather forcast, and shoot! we totally forgot to make signs for the road so people knew where to turn! Yes, that's right, I was mere hours away from my wedding day.

The days preceding my wedding are a blur- filled with last minute details and finally letting go of the idea that I could do it all. (Maybe hand-stitched hankies was going a little overboard?) My relatives were starting to arrive and my phone was ringing off the hook with questions and concerns. My parents had arrived and were each fielding requests from their families. My soon-to-be in-laws were also welcoming house guests and shuttling grandparents to and from the hotel. It was chaos. It was pandemonium.

That night, of October 13th, 2006, we all gathered in my in-laws home for the Welcome Dinner. I have no idea how many people were there, but we were spread out on every seat in the whole house. My soon-to-be Mother-in-law and her sister had prepared all of the food from scratch. It was amazing.

After dinner my father called everyone out to the back deck then he set off the most fantastic firework show feet from where we all stood breathless. The bursts of green and purple filled the sky above our heads and the booms and bangs were so loud we all expected the police to show up at any moment. My friend Tara's four month old baby slept through the whole thing. It was almost the best night of my life.

Except the next day I got to do this: