November Arrives

November arrives. Chris and Heather's Wedding takes place in less than 2 weeks. There are so many last minute details to consider and decisions to be made (and I'm only the mother-of-the-groom!) Plans are falling into place; smoothly so far and I'm beginning to feel a sense of excitement about a wonderful event in the making.

I've already started putting "mission critical" items into a carry-on bag for the flight. The rest of our luggage can be checked but certain things absolutely need to arrive when we do and cannot be misplaced, lost, delayed or left behind accidentally. Perish the thought!

The rehearsal dinner for the wedding party and out of town family and friends should be a fun gathering. Low keyed and casual is what Chris and Heather really wanted the night before their wedding. This will be a jeans, BBQ, and beer/wine affair at a local venue in Walnut Creek. I need to comb through my country music CDs and find some good tunes to go with those ribs and brisket. At last count, we'll be a group of 55 or so! We're so pleased that family and friends from as far away as Florida and Massachusetts will be joining us. Many of our extended family have not seen each other in decades.

More good news to share as well: My Dad, who I accompanied to three doctor's appointments last week for a particularly nasty skin rash on his face, is so much better. I stressed myself out worrying that either he or my Mom would get really sick right before the wedding. Such an unfortunate bit of timing has happened before, why not again? But, the miracle of spot-on diagnosis and prompt treatment has my Dad raving about how much better he feels this week compared to last. Yes!!!

I'm so sorry that Mom and Dad won't be attending Chris and Heather's wedding. The last time they journeyed out of state for a wedding was over three years ago. They were a lot younger in spirit and physical abilities back in 2006 when we flew to Houston for my niece's (and their granddaughter's) wedding. As it was, they were pushed around the maze of airports in wheelchairs and Mom was using a walker the rest of the time. I will miss their presence at my son's wedding but I accept the reasons for their absence. Mom will occasionally mention something about clothing or shoes for the wedding as if she is going but we've reminded her many times that she and Dad will have pictures and videos to watch instead. She remembers for awhile and then slips back into thinking she'll be there. But Dad, well....he gets it and he understands.

I'm grateful that he's feeling better. I took this picture of him yesterday with "Buffy" the cat calling his lap home base. He looks amazing compared to last week at this time.

Moving forward.