glorious!

It was a wonderful weekend. There are too many things, too many details to share with you, so I will limit this brief post to this picture of our beautiful daughter-in-law, Trisha, and a smidgen of news.

My apologies for the delay in being in touch. You may recall that Internet access at Melrose is by long-distance dial-up. Between that annoyance and the slow speed at which my computer is functioning these days it is just impossible to log on and accomplish anything without taking forever. I have opted to limit my online activity to occasions when I can be at a wi-fi spot, like now. As it is we spent so much time last week running around taking care of wedding errands that we had little time to enjoy being at Melrose. The remaining days this week feel exceedingly precious, so I may wait until my return home before I post again. But you never know.

Some highlights: I got to hold my grandsons! That was exquisite joy. Some of you know about the tensions that have plagued the relationship with our daughter. I am happy to report that there is progress in that area. I took it upon myself to initiate conversations with both daughter and son-in-law to pave the way toward better communication, and the effort was more than worth it. I have made my own commitment to be more active in communicating with that family, and I pray that will make a difference. We all want things to be better. Getting there without a road map is a challenge.

We have also committed to referring to Junior as Kenneth. He has had too many names and nicknames, and the apparent identity crisis (not for him, but for the rest of us) prompted our decision to join the mainstream.

My dress was a disaster. I love the dress, but it just didn't love me back. Let's just say that my weight gain and increased dimensions up top have given me cleavage for the first time in history. In spite of having "accessories" to aid in dressing, it just didn't work. Thanks to a shawl loaned to me by a friend I was able to maintain some modesty, but I was self-conscious and rearranging the shawl without ceasing throughout the wedding festivities. Groan.

The bridal couple looked absolutely stunning. Kenneth in his dress blues and Trisha's natural beauty rocked the house. I can't wait for the pictures to pour in so that I can share them with you.

They are both fun-loving people, and that was never more apparent than at the reception, and on occasion during the wedding ceremony itself. During one dance Kenneth's performance even elicited an enthusiastic response by one of the catering staff at the drink station--she ran onto the dance floor and stuffed a dollar bill beneath his suspenders. Priceless!

I regret that I don't have very many pictures from the weekend. The photographer, who was fabulous, was so efficient that things moved too fast for me to get in position with my camera and capture some of the shots I would normally have sought. He assured us that a CD would be available, so we will wait to see his results.

The rehearsal dinner was a huge hit. Phew! Details on that in another post, but everyone told us they had never been to another rehearsal dinner like it, and that it was lots of fun. We're glad. Having fun was the whole point.

So, friends, that's it for now. You have no idea how much I have missed being in touch with you all. I am eager to share more snippets and a few more images with you when I am able to post again. Until then be well, and don't forget to write!