That evening, we got settled into our hotel and then Alex’s parents hosted Hor d’ourves in their suite. Lots of out of town guests had come in and were staying at the hotel and many came by to mingle a little that evening. It was wonderful to see Amy and Alex and they looked just like the happy young couple that they are. Both of their parents were really nice and made John and I feel right at home. I found a nice couch to park myself on and ended up talking to just about the sweetest little old lady you could imagine. She was a friend from Amy’s church. When she sat down, someone handed her a drink and, with the heat still in full effect, she took a gulp and then made this expression that was to die for. She was expecting lemonade and got white wine. She laughed and resigned herself to the wine until she saw John open up a nice frosty beer. I could see that she was eyeing it, and then she asked if she could have a beer and I traded John her wine for his beer. I had never seen such a cute little old woman look so longingly at a Heineken. My father used to keep beer in my Grandmother’s fridge and one time she accidentally grabbed one when she was trying to give Harry a Coke. He took a sip and made a sour face and said, I don’t think this is Coke. My Grandma said sure it is and took a sip. Well, down the drain that beer went. Now here on my left was someone who was just as adorable as my Grandmother, sipping away on a beer just like the trackhouse guy on my right. Awesome. Between her and a few other guests I got my accent fix for the night. I don’t know what it is, but I could listen to that southern drawl for hours.
On Friday, a bunch of the guests went for a run in the morning and I went out with my folks to see a little history. Hollywood cemetery is right there and we took a little drive through. A few of the notable people resting there were James Monroe, John Tyler, and Jefferson Davis. They also had a confederate section which really brought home the power of the civil war. No doubt that human subjugation is evil and wrong, but like any conflict, even the “villains” are human beings. It seems to me, a lot of the impetus for war was the reaction by southerners against being told what to do by outsiders, the north. Again, slavery needed to end, but I also understand that reaction. I don’t like to be told what to do. Maybe we should take that into consideration when find ourselves on the other side of the world trying to do good. Alright, enough ranting for now.
Later, my folks and I went over to the Fine Art Museum, which had a pretty impressive collection of faberge eggs and then back to the hotel for a nap before the wedding.
It was an evening wedding at the Botanical Gardens there in Richmond and, thankfully, it had cooled off a good 10-15 degrees and the humidity was down a bit, too. It was a lovely ceremony with the sun going down behind the couple making them glow a little like angels. Kenji gave an awesome poetry reading. More animated than anything I had ever seen before. Alex and Amy exchanged very nice vows and I was really impressed that each delivered some pretty extensive vows flawlessly under a decent amount of pressure. I think I would have cracked. I could barely get out the sentences that the pastor had said just a moment before. The whole multi-day wedding celebration was so well thought out and was a credit to the time and energy Alex and Amy put into planning these few days. I am sure it will be a reflection of the time, energy, and dedication that they will put towards their marriage. Even the local honey in the cloth gift bags (made by Amy) was given in 3 oz. jars to insure that guests traveling by plane would not have to forfeit their honey at the security check-point. As an engineer who is usually the most detail-oriented person in the room, I was not even in their league. Well done, Alex and Amy, well done. After the ceremony, the reception was right there at the gardens and everyone seemed to have a really good time. I heard a lounge version of “Baby Got Back” for the first time during dinner and was again impressed by the couple’s dancing skills for the first dance. In the twilight after the sun had gone down, the fireflies came out and it was really pretty magical. I had not seen fireflies since I was a kid visiting my Aunt Zel in Chicago and they just put a smile on my face. All in all, an amazing evening.
On Saturday, I dialyzed in the morning (and waited an hour and a half to get onto the machine for a four hour treatment) and then cruised over to a pool party at Amy’s folks house. I would have liked to have had more time hanging out but it was still really nice and I met some wonderful people from both Amy and Alex’s various groups of friends. That night we headed back up to DC and crashed near the airport for our early flight the next day.
I spent the next week recovering from the trip, dialyzing, and trying to get my hours in for work. Tiana and Mike V. were in town and I hung out with them a different times during the week. Thursday was game night at Tiana’s and Ross and Ryan G. joined Mike, Tiana, and I for some fierce board game action. Mike V. turned out to be the railroad baron we all knew he was and took home victory at Ticket to Europe. On Saturday, Tom A. and I headed down to San Diego to see the Coffees and extended family. It was a mellow and nice 4th of July and really good to see Chris, Katie, and little Vincinzo. He turned 1 year old yesterday on the fifth which also marked 4 years since diagnosis for me. It was really good to be around Cinzo and I was so thankful that Chris, Katie, and the rest of the family really made Tom and I feel as part of the family. Seeing, holding, and interacting with a 1 year old did more for my soul than I think any support group ever could have. He was so full of life and so amazing I could not have imagined a better way to spend the day. Late in the night of the fourth, I had a couple shots of tequila, which was the first hard alcohol I had had in a long, long time. I took 1 for the 4th and 1 for the 5th. In the evening of the 5th, Cinzo had his birthday party in Old town San Diego. I think there were more than 30 people there for this little guy’s first birthday. What can I say, he is a popular guy.
It has been a busy few weeks. I am hoping to recover a bit for a while and just dialyze, work, and sleep. I hope all of you are doing well. I finally caved and joined facebook a few weeks ago and have found it to actually be a pretty cool thing. I still think real interaction is better but it has been nice to reconnect and is enjoyably addictive. It may also be a good way to follow my updates as I am not the most consistent blogger.
I hope everyone is pulling for Lance.
Take Care and Live Strong,
Tyler
