Monday, March 7, 2011

The Dance



And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end; the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance 
I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance.

Six years ago today it wasn't snowing like it is outside my window now.  It was sunny and the green of spring was just starting to drive the brown away.  I was smack in the middle of marrying the man that had at last, come for me

A small affair at the restaurant where we first met, I was wearing the dress I wanted in a soft creme covered with beads.   My Dad, in a tuxedo, was finally going to walk me down the aisle. My radiant mother looked young enough to be my sister.  We weren't sure that all of Ron's daughters would be there, but they came and it was magic! 

I had asked everyone to wear black and white.  My sister-in-law wore a green skirt. She is so pretty, no one noticed or really cared.  A friend's husband sang Some Enchanted Evening.."Once you have found her, Never let her go.."

The elderly rent-a-judge stumbled through the ceremony like it was his first, thrown by our unconventional requests...unsure what to leave out of the vows and what we wanted to say.  It didn't matter...

My mother read a gorgeous poem written by Rod McKuen.  
It is called, I Always Knew http://www.rodmckuen.com/poetry/knew.htm 

We ate and smiled and cried a little bit.  We posed for pictures and pulled faces for some.  My Dad got his own dessert instead of chocolate wedding cake, and my three girls presented us with a certificate naming our very own Star. 

Ron had been eyeing the wine cellar, and he talked the restaurant manager into letting us in for more pictures.  The light was perfect, and in those happy moments, so were we.
 
Oh, did I mention my oldest daughter video-taped the wedding?  I can sit down, plug in the VHS tape, and re-live the entire event.  I plan to watch it sometime, but seeing my Mom so happy, so beautiful and alive...I can't do it.  Not yet.  

But I will never forget. It was one of the best days of my life.

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