Monday, June 13, 2011

Passages

There are a few significant passages in life--some we long for and some that just creep up on us unaware.
In my day, I couldn't wait for the time when I could get my ears pierced and shave my legs. For some reason, my parents deemed that 13 was the magic age for that right of passage. I was so giddy the day I could get my ears pierced--I remember it well. Until I passed out. In those days we had to go to a jeweler in town to select your earrings and have them do the deed. I remember picking out the gold balls and sitting on the stool, the click of the piercing gun, then the thud of hitting the floor! I got up to have them finish the task and have lived with those same holes for almost 40 years.
I don't remember when the leg shaving began but I still wonder why I thought this was such a grand thing to be able to do. These days I scrutinize my weekly wardrobe to determine if I really need to shave them at all.
And then there's that other womanly right of passage. I wasn't especially eager to enter that stage and it's proven to be nothing more than an interruption to my life on a regular basis. This too shall pass...and anytime soon would be okay with me.
But there's a passage that I've recently found myself in that kind of snuck up on me. It has marked me as a grown up person, a mature woman, the "older" woman in that Titus 2 passage. I think it started with the weddings of my nephew and niece then the birth of my great nephew. It was the realization that a new generation of family was coming into adulthood and it was only a short time ago that we were the ones getting married and having babies. This weekend was another mark in that passage. In my circle of friends, we are having children who are getting married and having babies. I hosted a bridal shower for one of those daughters this past Saturday. We were the ladies with the punch bowls, the brunch recipes, and the traditions passed down from generations before us about shower games and ribbon bouquets. It was an awesome day--friends banding together, collaborating our gifts and talents and walking hand in hand into the next phase of life together!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Ode to A Royal Wedding


We gathered, we dined, we may have even wined.
We snacked and we yakked
Then out came the books--photos from our weddings way back in time
Before we were friends...and when we had waistlines




We decorated hats or at least we tried
and left little doubt why a tradition has died

Some left, some stayed

Some dozed--a few snored
And then the alarms implored.





We oohed, we ahhhed
We poked a little fun
We smiled
And remembered the day of our own wedding fun

They smiled and they promised
but obey was omitted
Prayers were read and songs were sung
They processed and we waited for the anticipated kiss (would it be short or would it be long?)
A first, then a second
Then the party inside beckoned

We sighed as we gathered our thoughts and our things
Back to our castles and our own would-be kings


Thursday, April 28, 2011

A Royal Wedding Sleepover

As I recall, an idea started several months ago when one of my lunch ladies/peeps asked if anyone was interested in watching the royal wedding on a Friday in April...at 3:00 AM.
I think I responded that I would love to watch Will & Kate tie the knot but I'd probably need to stay up all night so I would be awake...at 3:00 AM for the broadcast.

And so the Royal Wedding Sleepover was born in our romantic hearts. Since I love a party and my nest is empty, my house was the logical choice. So now here we are on eve of the Royal Wedding. The table is set, decorations are in place, and festivities have been planned to keep us awake all night and beds have been freshened for those who decide they must sleep. There will be no silly string or bras in the freezer on my watch but you can never be certain what this lively group might have up their sleeves!

Cheers!