Proof of A Good Day

Saturday found the whole lot of us dressed up and looking for trouble.

I excavated the blow dryer from its dusty tomb. Cory shaved. Calvin wore a numberless shirt. The day was all different kinds of noteworthy.

We were Back Home for my cousin's wedding and the day was all hot and bothered, but the moment was perfect. I am a sucker for love - it's true.

As it turns out, I surprised myself by not shedding a tear. I'm usually your garden-variety wedding crier. Not this time. I think it had something to do with a most unusual distraction -- homemade fruit leather.

In a gesture of goodwill, my mom loaded up her purse with all manner of gadgetry and snacks to quell the wildlife during the ceremony. Two different times she passed a wad down the aisle. As misfortune would have it, my kids don't really hanker for homemade fruit leather. As greater misfortune would have it, I was the end of the line.

The way I figured, I had three choices -make peace with sticky hands, stash the Goods in the zipper pocket of my bag or take a bullet for the team and eat it.

In the end, I chewed.

And chewed.

I have to admit - those rascally kids don't know what they were missing.

And also, homemade fruit leather is the perfect antidote to wedding tears.

During intermission, before the fun, rowdy Firehouse reception, we snapped some photos. I needed proof that I own a dress and remember how to apply eyeliner.

"Hi, my name is Keisha. I'm Shannan's sister. Since I could never narrow it down to just one thing, my favorite things about Shannan are: her spot-on fashion sense, her insistence upon minding her own business at all times, and her salsa. She's also a particularly impressive tub scrubber and she does a mean (in the good way) impersonation. What I'm trying to say is, I love every darn thing about my big sister. She truly is the best!"*

My goodness, wasn't that heartfelt and sweet!

(Keisha really did write the above words. But don't ask her about it, because she's really, really shy about making such public proclamations. Whatever you do, don't ask her about it. But they really are her words. I definitely didn't write them myself, because that would just be strange.)**

While we were all gathered up, colorful and happy, we got a family shot.

And.....

Ta-da! A up-to-date shot of us'ns.

So, it seems witnessing two love-birds promise a lifetime of love, double-stranding a nearly forgotten necklace, strapping wee toes into sandals, munching on the best corn and barbecue piled up with slaw and banana peppers, finding my octave in a chorus of familiar laughs, heading into the evening with my favorite peeps and happening upon a chance encounter with life-long friends at the fork of a road is the very best way to spend a hot, late-summer day.


*This may or may not be a fabrication.
** This is the exact opposite of the truth.