Wedding

Waiting for the Bride

 The wedding was so much fun. We reconnected with friends we had not seen in many years and made a few new ones. The ceremony itself was at the famous Pulgas Water Temple, which was built at the connector where the water from the snow melt comes down from the Sierra Mountains and into the reservoir to supply water to San Francisco. The setting was beautiful and I prepared as much as I could for the heat. Earlier in the morning, I had my makeup professionally applied for the very first time in my life. I suddenly had no wrinkles! It was rather amazing. We had a quick lunch with Wayne and Ian after they finished installing the 2x2s over the arbor before dressing for the wedding.

We worried about the pumpkin traffic so we gave ourselves plenty of time to get over the pass, had a cold iced tea from a Starbucks on the way and arrived first to the ceremony site! It was hot. I brought my oxygen and an umbrella. We sat in the very back row and Michael held the umbrella over me during the ceremony. But, it was hot and the flies were excited to have visitors. Tons of flies.

Mindy with Joel's father

But, the heat and the flies could not put a damper on the ceremony itself. The vows that Mindy and Joel exchanged were so personal and so very real. They clearly adored each other. All the good and all the bad. They push each other to be the best they can be. It was a very touching ceremony. At one point towards the end, something hit Michael. Something said reminded him so much of us. He leaned under the umbrella and kissed me. It was so lovely.

We made our way to the reception site down on the Bay. It was in a huge space I had been in years ago. It used to be part of a children's museum but was now being used for weddings and meetings after the new museum was built. It was on four levels connected by interior ramps. It took a while for me to recover my breath from the heat of the ceremony and a walk back up a hill to our car. I felt a bit overwhelmed at the sight of four levels! But, after a glass of cold lemonade and a seat while talking to new and old friends, I felt better. Recovered.

Finally, dinner was announced, we made our way to the top level and sat with Joel's uncle, Tim whom we had not seen in years. We met his wife and college-aged daughters for the first time and just had a ball with all of them. Tim used to be one of the kids who hung out in our garage many years before William was born. He had dropped out of college and was just doing some mechanical and body work. He saw a fancy car and asked someone what the guy did for a living to afford it? Doctor? Hmmmm. He applied to college then medical school then his focus became colon/rectal after his father died of colon cancer. He settled in a private practice in Southern California but kept his parent's house here in town. They use it when they visit the area. He told me last night that someone referred a two-month old baby who had kidney failure to him and mom's university was the expert in the baby's specific problem. Tim took the parents aside (who he had just met) and offered them the house here on the coast while their son was in the hospital. They stayed just over a month and the child is still alive. That is the type of guy Tim is. He also said that he was a really good surgeon because of being a good auto mechanic. Same tools. Small spaces. No problem.

Dinner. It was excellent Mexican food and an open bar the entire evening. And wine. And conversation. Both Michael and I are hoarse this morning. There was a photo booth with props then some dancing before the cutting of the cake. Both chocolate and lemon! Before leaving, we were invited to Joel's parent's house for dinner on Monday night. Tim and his wife will be there before they head home on Tuesday. I offered to bring an appetizer. I hope our voices recover before then!

Today, I have to cut the grass, phone Christien, make the food list for the week, order some drugs and get ready to return the jewels to the bank vault tomorrow. Life continues after such a wonderful day.