A quick calculation tells me that I’ve been around for more than 3,000 weekends.
The one I just got done with was the best yet.
I’ve certainly had some whopper weekends in my younger days when fun was measured a little differently.
This one, though, was perfect. The oldest of my three daughters was escorted down the aisle in front of hundreds of family members and friends who witnessed her becoming Mrs. Brown a few minutes later.
And by the power vested in me by a church on the World Wide Web I had the honor of not only walking my little girl to the front of the ceremony, but I also officiated.
The ceremony was surreal. As a now retired wedding officiant, I think I went out at the top of my game. It was kind of like being a quarterback, and your only start was a Super Bowl win.
The real excitement was to see the gathering of family and friends. Family dynamics change over generations. Some important people in our lives unfortunately leave us too soon. Kids move away to start a new life and start families of their own. I looked back on everything that changed since my wife and I stood in the front of the church 32 years ago. We were blessed with four wonderful children of our own. Our son married a wonderful woman a few years back, and they’ve blessed us with the two greatest grandkids. Our daughters are scattered around Wisconsin writing new chapters in lives’ book.
My wife and I both come from large families. Hers had nine kids, and mine had eight. Our parents have since passed, as have three siblings between us. Our daughter was honored with the presence of all but a few of her aunts and uncles who couldn’t make the trip. It was awe-inspiring to see all the faces of family members who we don’t get to see often enough.
Several of our closest friends from various stations in life were able to attend. One of my closest friends and his wife we had just seen the weekend prior as we witnessed the marriage of his beautiful daughter. We’ve only seen each other a handful of times in two decades, so it was fun to see them twice in a span of six days.
I’m of the age now that I can really appreciate the things that matter, and family is obviously on the top of that list. Seeing the dynamic change between siblings as they get older is a true thing of beauty. There is nothing they wouldn’t do for each other, and I guess that maybe means mom and dad weren’t so bad after all.
I don’t know how many celebrations I have left in me. None of us do. I’m certainly going to cherish the memories of this weekend for the rest of my time, be it days, years or decades (I hope!). We had the time of our lives celebrating Molly and David Brown.