We were able to attend a wedding this weekend for our good friends Rob and Amber. The happiness and love at their wedding was palpable and we had a wonderful time catching up with friends that we seem to lose touch with in the days of raising a little one.
In the midst of the celebrations, there was also stress. Amber was kind enough to let us bring Luke along to the wedding. At first, I was planning on trying to find a sitter. Dillon and I could enjoy an adult night away with friends, but then I thought it might just be easier to bring him along. Amber assured me that there would be lots of kids there and Luke would fit right in. Around 2:30 on Saturday, I began to regret my decision.
Luke woke up from his nap fussy. He didn't want to wear the outfit I had bought him specifically for this wedding. I had to plan ahead and pack snacks and drinks. Dillon had left at 11:30 because he was part of the wedding party, so I was trying to wrangle this 17 month old kid who is now a quarter of my own weight. I had spent two hours getting ready while he napped and the makeup was running off my face with sweat while my hair frizzed.
We arrived early and I let Luke run through the fields of flowers and look at the horses in the meadows. And then it started to rain. Once again, I tried to wrestle this little fellow back into the car, where he didn't want to be and struggled to find grace along the way. It continued to rain and I finally realized we were going to have to get to the ceremony site in the rain. I pulled the stroller out so Luke would have shelter and got my umbrella up, only to find it was broken. The story of my day.
Luke got in the stroller and we bumped along the way over the rocks and bridge to the site where Rob and Amber would become husband and wife. By this time, I'm sure I had sweat rings on my new dress and my shoes were covered in mud and grass. We bumped our way over to a seat under an umbrella and I prayed that Luke would behave for the ceremony. "Please don't fuss and cry and throw a tantrum right as they exchange vows..."
But then, the sun came out. The wedding party gathered on the other side of the bridge and we all stood to watch the beautiful bride come down the aisle. Luke was able to sit still and listened to the music and played with his dinosaurs while the vows were exchanged.
At the reception we were able to relax a little and Luke could run around. I still felt tense as we were chasing him across the dance floor, trying to keep him from putting his hands that were caked in baked beans on fancy dresses and keep him from eating rocks.
But then I realized as I sat around the table with a group of people we have known from high school friends to friends we've known for only a few years now, how incredibly blessed we are. We had just watched our friends promise to love each other until the end of their days, we were talking with friends who are expecting their first child, friends who had just purchased their first home and our blessing of little Luke who is able to run and laugh and have fun and be a boisterous boy.
I then realized that the stress of my day was small potatoes. We are all so fortunate in our lives. Yes, we may not have perfect days. Luke may fuss. It may rain on our wedding day. Our body may be worn out from packing and unpacking boxes and house repairs. We may be sick for the umpteenth time this year because of little baby germs or we may be exhausted and worn down because of the life we are growing, but how blessed are we to have these problems?
I may not have the grace and composure that I would like all the time and my head may hit the pillow of extreme exhaustion at 9 PM most days, but I wouldn't change it for anything.
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| Keys to pacify |
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| The beautiful wildflowers! |
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| In motion! |
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