Congratulations Are In Order!

The bride's sister took this great photo

This weekend, I had the honor of attending the wedding of a beautiful couple. The blushing bride was my "Big Sis" in Pi Phi, and was an amazing friend and mentor to me as I grew through times good and bad. Needless to say, I admire her in many ways.The dashing groom proudly sported his Marine colors, and makes a perfect match for Julia.

Julia is one of the most beautiful souls I've ever met. She constantly amazes me with her grace, patience and commitment to her faith. These qualities, of course, are paradoxical with the intensity with which she supports the Bears, and she can certainly make her displeasure known when they are losing.

I haven't known Matt long, and I can't say that I have had a chance to really get to know him, but Julia has told me enough about him that I feel quite comfortable saying that he is perfect for her. Just in the way they interact, anyone can see how much joy he brings her (and she, him), and how comfortable they are together. They share laughter easily, but naturally just click on the more serious matters in life.

Their ceremony was solemn, personal, and so heartfelt. Similarly, the reception was romantic, yet fun. I, of course, had no shortage of tears during both.

During the reception, arguably one of the most memorable moments occurred during the traditional father-daughter dance. I was seated with a group of other former Pi Phis who had made the trip. As the music began and the bride joined her father on the dance floor, our entire group nearly instantaneously burst into tears. We all began to look around the table and noticed that each of us was crying (minus one Pi Phi's husband, who had the misfortune of being the only male seated at our table), and giggled a little.

Then came the moment that defined the reception for us. As the father-daughter dance ended, the bride took the microphone and asked her dad to return to the dance floor. She explained that she had one more song to dance with him since she had long regretted not dancing with him during a high school dance (I missed the explanation here, but I'm guessing he volunteered to chaperon the dance). The song "Stealing Cinderella" by Chuck Wicks came through the speakers, only this time, our table was rendered near inconsolable. We cried, wiped our tears, and cried again, but noticed again that everyone at our table was doing so. This inspired a fit of laughter on all accounts, but the laughter didn't stop the tears.  In case anyone at the reception had been wondering where the "sorority table" was, there was no longer any question. The server looked bewildered with a side of concerned when he spoke to the next table and pointed to us, saying, "that whole table is laughing and crying...I don't know what to do!"

I have heard of people laughing and crying at the same time, but I never actually thought it could happen. I'm sure my brain was incredibly confused as to the proper response to such emotional contradiction. Leave it to Julia to show me anything is possible!

So here's to a beautiful wedding, an inspiring couple, and a very happy, blessed married life together. Congratulations, Matt and Julia!

Thanks, Dad!

Father's Day may be over, but I want to give a shout-out to my dad today. I am convinced I have the best, most awesome, most exceptional dad out there. The hundreds of Facebook statuses claiming the same thing on Father's Day were misguided, clearly.

Saturday morning I was greeted with a fresh cup of coffee and a bagel (my favorite breakfast combo, I love carbs), followed by an hour's worth of friendly chit chat with my dad. Of course, he had been up for hours--he's one of those folks who considers 9am way too late to be still sleeping-- and had already fertilized the lawn, put in new trim in his bathroom, and finished grouting the new tile.

A few hours later, after feeling as though I had just come in from flogging a dead horse and then repeatedly bashing my head into a cement wall (I was job hunting and filling out applications), I heaved a deep sigh and slumped down on the couch. He sat with me for about two hours listening to me gripe about being bored to the point of wishing there was paint I could watch as it dried as that sounded thrilling in comparison to my day, and I went on about the frustrating (understatement of the century) job market.  By the end of the conversation, he had shared stories of his own about finding work in the first few years of my parents' marriage.

My dad, though, knows me enough to know that when I'm in full-on gripe mode (which, in all honesty, is pretty rare for me, I think), advice is generally the last thing I will listen to. All I want to do is vent. And I can be good at it. So he just let me go. As soon as I was done, after a few tears had been shed and it was all I could do to hold back the sniffles, he promptly stood up, started a pot of coffee (my ultimate weakness), and brought me a cookie he made the other day. We then talked for another couple of hours about absolutely anything, just something to keep my mind off of the job hunt. We even compared the nearly matching scars on our shins--we call them battle wounds-- from various reckless childhood days.

When it was all said and done, we had a couple laughs and I was feeling much better...I even laughed when he made fun of how blue my eyes looked because the "red puffiness really brings out the blue" when I cry. Funny, Dad. Reeeal funny.

Eh, I know I'll find a job, and it will be one I love. I know it takes time, and I know it's probably going to be frustrating for a little while, but sometimes, a good vent and a good cry is really all you need to get back at it again. So, thanks, Dad, for truly being the best around <3