5,4,3,2,1, Blast Off

Well, the countdown has truly begun. Next week at this time all the fuss, all the planning, all the last minute panic will be over. Today that's still hard to believe because I feel like I have 13 impossible things to do before breakfast. It isn't actually that many and the only truly impossible thing I have to deal with is my hair. Hopefully the salon will be able to work more magic on Saturday than I've been able to manage of late. I think I'm feeling anxious today because I got a task given to me yesterday that means I've got to go back yet another time and deal with the music director at church. She's an older nun who, while I'm sure she's trying to be nice, has made me feel at every encounter that I'm entering the principal's office after having done something wrong. I'm dreading having to do it again. Because we have new priests I no longer have the option of simply giving a quick call to Father Mayo to ask him the question and I'm not yet at the point of feeling comfortable giving a quick call to Father Baker. I think only my daughter understands just how uncomfortable this particular aspect of things is, and is really grateful she doesn't have to do it. Everyone else, I'm sure thinks I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill, but it is truly a mountain for me.

This week I need to: put together an emergency wedding day kit (sewing supplies, Motrin, etc), put together one gift basket (plus another little surprise one), pay the restaurant, cancel some hair appointments, figure out who does what when, clean the condo where my brother-in-law and niece will be staying, dye my hair, make some food for the rehearsal dinner, make sure the guys get to Burlington to pick up their tuxes, lose two more pounds (ok, I'm being obsessive now!), write nice letters to my dd and her new husband. Most of this falls into the category of housekeeping details, but the last item really does not. In the midst of a whole lot of hub bub it actually feels like the most important thing I'll do this week. I've been working on it for a while now (mostly in my head) and I'm not yet satisfied with what I've come up with.

Months ago I told my daughter I wanted them to have this time before the wedding be a time when they could prepare not just for a party, but for marriage. I think they've done a pretty good job of balancing both of those things, and I've tried to not only help with the practical stuff, but add lots of prayers for them into my schedule as well. I'd appreciate all of your prayers for us this week. They want this wedding to truly reflect what they are aiming for in their marriage. They want all their guests to understand what this sacrament is all about (including the fact that it IS a sacrament. A lot of work and thought has gone into it and it would be really nice if it all comes together the way they have dreamed it would.

So very soon we'll be a reconfigured family. It's going to feel different in some ways, but not all that different in others. Jim has been a part of our life for long enough now that it feels like he's been a part of the family for quite awhile. Abby's lived away from here enough that there is no huge transition to make on that front. Because of gas prices they probably won't be down as often as they've been in the past few months, but I certainly know the way to Burlington.

Once the wedding is over, the guests gone home, the presents gathered, the couple off on the honeymoon I'm beginning a new undertaking. Or maybe I'm simply going back to an old one. Next week I go to my first La Leche League meeting in about 20 years. I'm in the process of getting reactivated as a leader. Now that my own kids are all grown up I can go back to doing something else I love. For this week, however, that and nearly everything else (including the weeds in the garden) are on the very backburner as we prepare for the biggest day we've had in a very, very long time.