4th of July 2010

It was a beautiful, hot, muggy day, and the morning sun lit up the flags gloriously as they hung out over the front porch. It was a perfect day to get up early, enjoy the cool morning breezes, spend a few hours in praise and worship, and then drive down to Mike and Shawna's for the wedding.

The wedding itself didn't take place until nearly nine o'clock, so we had plenty of time to sit in the shade of the canopy and enjoy chatting with family and friends, catching up on the latest gossip and trading 'old-timer' stories of the way things used to be, and how the young whipper-snappers don't know what life is all about (but boy are they going to find out soon!), and reminiscing about people who have come and gone. The food showed up in copious amounts around six o'clock, and we fell to feasting, but that didn't hinder our yapping one bit, just gave us more energy to come up with more stories.

Finally the procession of participants began walking down the long path from the house to the pavilion, dressed in wonderfully tasteful wedding clothes, and the ceremony commenced, interrupted only by the loyal canines who sought to protect their masters from the onslaught of vicious photographers (and there were about a million of us stalking the grounds). Mike and Shawna and all the associated kin stood up on the deck looking happily down at the crowd of well-wishers, then the bride and groom took their vows with joyous solemnity while we watched and smiled and laughed.

Then they came down the steps to be congratulated, and the party began anew.

Later on, after all the requisite pictures of the families had taken place, the music started up and the bride and groom took center stage again to dance amid the popping champagne corks (the little plastic streamer-popping kind), and held on to each other as if no one else existed in the entire world, which is as it should be. And we gathered around them and silently prayed our blessing on the union, that it may be a life-long and happy one.