Spectacles
It occurred to me, out of the blue, that the wedding photos will probably be taken outside. So what's the problem, you ask?  Well, my eyeglasses are transition lenses that go dark in the sunshine. If we are getting our photos taken outside I'll be looking like Stevie Wonder or Joe Cool. 


A friend at work, who also wears transition lenses, faced the same problem with her daughter's wedding.  The solution?  Buy an inexpensive pair of glasses that don't transition in the sun.  I asked my sister, who works for a major eye insurance company, the best way to find inexpensive glasses.  Her recommendation was to try Costco, JC Penney Optical or Lens Crafters, since they have sales from time to time. 


Sure enough, JC Penny Optical just had a sale.  I was able to purchase a great pair of frames with plain lenses for a very good price.  I'm one step closer to being ready for the weddings.  And that, of course, is a nice thing!

Rush Hour

Ah, this morning was delicious.  It's Saturday. Normally on weekends I get up at the crack of dawn and rush out to do groceries, gas up the car and do other errands. I end up rushing around all day and the weekend is over in a snap.  Today, even though I woke up at Oh-Dark-Hundred, I stayed in bed--warm, comfortable and cozy--until it was light out. I took my time getting out of bed, reading the paper and eating breakfast. What a difference. Of course, I haven't gotten anything done but I'm rested and relaxed which feels amazing. 

I tend to rush all the time. I rush to work, rush to meetings, rush to get work projects done and then rush home where I rush around some more.  I know with the two weddings coming up I'll be rushing to check things off my list of "things-to-do" for each.  I need to remember to slow down and savor all things wedding. Otherwise I'm going to miss out on enjoying the moments of each.  I'll miss out on the love, joy and happiness that will accompany both weddings. I'm not sure how I'm going to get myself to slow down but I'm going to try. Life is about living, not rushing.  I need to remember to live life, not rush through life.

Unlucky in Love

My mother has been married, let's see... four times. Her first marriage was when she was 18 years old. She annulled that marriage shortly after taking her vows. Her next marriage took place in her early 20's; I was born when she was 25. Soon after my birth, she discovered my father had been straying; she divorced him and became a single mom.  By the time I was two years old, she met a guy, Thomas Williams, at her work. The two hit it off  and married. Tom adopted me; my mom worked until my sister Tracy was born. Three years later little sis Wendy arrived. All was lovely for a few years. Unfortunately Tom was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died when I was 14; my sisters were eight and five.

Mom went back to work to support the three of us. After about four years she began dating again. At first she dated a variety of guys. Then she dated one man exclusively for a bit. It turned out he didn't like kids. She met another man and it became serious. The two married at a justice of the peace. The day after the wedding her new husband ordered my mom to turn over all of her bank accounts and house mortgage to him.  Well, no one ever "orders" my mom to do anything. But even if he'd asked nice, my mom wouldn't have turned over her assets to him just because he thought that was the way it should be. She asked him to leave, which he did in a huff. She annulled that marriage, too.

Many years later she met a fun-loving guy on the bus that took them both to work. They had great times together, tooling about on his Harley and getting together to BBQ with friends. He was looking forward to retiring early, buying an RV and traveling through the U.S. He asked my mom to go with him. She couldn't decide whether or not to quit work and travel with him. He retired and bought the RV. Two weeks later, before getting to travel anywhere, he suffered a massive heart attack and was raced to the hospital. There he never regained consciousness andhe ffpassed away. That was 28 years ago. Mom has been by herself ever since. But she's an independent gal and it sort of suits her.

It's easy to think my mother has been unlucky in love. I bet she would say that isn't true. I think she'd say, in her no-nonsense way, "Live and learn, kid, live and learn." I like to think that my mom has lived large and loved large. And that she is a better person for doing so.  

Marriages
I joke that I was a child bride because my hubby and I married so young. We will be married 41 years this March. I was barely 19 and David was barely 21. We thought we were old enough. But of course we were way too young. We couldn't even begin understand the challenges we were up against--that neither one of us had never left home, had never faced any real-life difficulties and that neither one of us was grown up enough to know what we wanted out of life or to know who we were as individuals. 

But we've had an incredible journey together. Like other couples we've had good times and bad times, uniquely happy times and incredibly sad times.  But it's that time we took growing together, when life was either generous or tumultuous, that bonded our hearts and souls. And so we'll stand together and watch both our children, Erick and Stephanie, join their hearts, minds and souls, with their beloveds, Christine and Mike. We will wish them love, joy and marriages that grow and bond.

It's January 2012 and I'm counting down.  My family is having two weddings.  That's right--two weddings in one year. My son and his fiancee, Christine, will be getting married in the Bay Area on May 6.  My daughter and her fiance, Mike, will be getting married in San Diego on Aug. 5.  As I've gotten older I realize that years come and years go.  But this year, with these two big events, will be a very special year. I expect a year filled with anticipation, challenges, hilarity and drama. I can hardly wait!