Category Archives: follow-up

family, follow-up, memories, texas

Of leopard print duck tape

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No wedding is perfect. Anyone who looks me in the eye and says their wedding was absolutely flawless is either lying or they had quite the support team in place to keep them from knowing about any hiccups that occurred.

For example, at my wedding the DJ was less that stellar. Oh I take some of the blame for perhaps not being clear enough with him about what was expected. But past that, how many times does a bridesmaid have to come tell you what kind of music to play before you figure out you’re doing it wrong?

My point is, I’ll say my wedding was perfect… but even in that, we had our hiccups.

So, going into the wedding this last weekend — especially as MOH,  not knowing the other bridesmaids very well — I was prepared for almost anything. I even came armed with leopard print duck tape.

Flat iron? Check.

Hairspray? Check.

Lip gloss and perfume? Check.

Band aids? Check.

Extra shoe insoles? Check.

Safety pins, nail clippers, wet wipes, Pepto, Advil, extra colors of lipstick? Check, check, check, check, check and check.

Scissors? Damn.

Well, so I forgot something. Again, not perfect. But I tried.

The ceremony was beautiful. The reception was a blast. No, things didn’t go 100% according to plan, but  you know… it still went great. The bride and groom were named man and wife. Toasts were made. Dances were danced. The cake was cut and the bouquet tossed. It was beautiful.

Oh I have a million stories I dare not share to the world. What happens in the bride’s room, stays in the bride’s room, after all! Though no promises that they won’t find their way into a novel some day…

Let’s just say that leopard print duck tape came to some interesting uses…

follow-up, memories

In memory

Follow-up to my previous blog entry on May 1:

The memorial for Brian Steele this week was nothing short of amazing. The sheer number of people who came together in his memory was moving, and to see it come together so well gave me this unexplainable JOY.

THIS is what a memorial should be like… celebrating a life and the connections a person brought together, even as we remain saddened that the person is gone from our life.

It got me thinking and wondering: if something happened to me, how would I be remembered? As I take stock of another person’s life — a person who so clearly touched so many people in such a positive way — it makes me want to be better myself. To reach out more to others. To make people smile and laugh.

And when it’s my time to go, I want the people who knew me to throw down like we did for Brian. Dance the night away. Shots all around (be it of alcohol or water!). Laughter right along with tears.

I’ve heard it so often that a funeral should be more a celebration of a life lived than a lamenting a life lost. The memorial this week was exactly that. I liked that… a lot. Celebrate the life that was lived, even as you mourn in your heart.