Two weeks ago I was honored to attend the wedding of a young lady who was born to good friends of my parents...years and years ago, in a far far away land...
My mother, met the mother of the bride some thirty years ago in Idaho.... (Many of you might not know it, but this is the state where I was born and raised for the first four years of my life...) My mother and Nancy;the mother of the bride, met in a play group of all places... both having started their families around the same time, and both of their husbands working at the same particle board plant; they quickly formed a close friendship... A friendship that has lasted three decades,two divorces , second marriages and now the marriages of their own children... So, when my mom told me that Hadley, Nancy's youngest daughter was getting married, I just knew that I wanted to attend! The wedding ceremony and reception were beautiful, although I took much more away from the celebration than I had anticipated to...
Wedding ceremony's in general have a way of making me feel intensely nostalgic... I love the honor that one's relationship is shown; the love and admiration of the adoring family and friends who surround the happy couple... I love watching as the bride and her father ascend down the aisle to her awaiting groom... The past meeting the future... And so that evening,as I was watching this exchange of sorts, my eyes couldn't help but be drawn towards the mother of the groom... There she sat, in the front row, holding the hand of her own husband... tissue in hand, tears in her eyes. Throughout the ceremony, I kept noticing the way that she was looking at her son, watching his every move, lingering in his every word... I found myself imaging myself in her position one day. My son's, dawning a tuxedo and repeating vows of their own. God willing, one day it will be me sitting there; and I'll likely be wondering where the years had gone... Wondering when my little boys grew up and became men... Wondering how their childhood went by in the blink of an eye; and how I could manage to go back and relive just one of those days, with little boys in my arms... I cried along with her... imagining the feeling of such happiness and such longing within the same moment. In my mind, she was seeing him throughout the years of his life, her most favorite of mental pictures playing a breathtaking sideshow in her mind... He's hours old...cradled in her arms, he's five years old at the beach, he's twelve years old playing in a baseball game, he's eighteen years old and he's going off to college, and now he's twenty something and he's getting married...
Then I am forced to reflect upon something that both my own mother and father have been telling me for years... (I have noticed that many of the sweetest insights provided to me by my parents have only been realized by myself, now that I am a parent as well...funny how that happens...) "It seems like only yesterday we were bringing you home from the hospital..." I always thought... how could this be true? There have been so many years and so many events that have taken place sense the day of my birth... Only now as a loving mother of two can I understand exactly what they are talking about....
You live each day through and through, sometimes repetitive and monotonous, sometimes new and exciting... There are the big moments, and lots of the smaller ones... Weeks turn into months, months into years and then... there you are, sitting front and center, literally watching your life before your eyes...
My mom dropped me off back at my home late that night... The house was quiet, everyone was fast asleep. Little boys in there beds, dreaming, peaceful... Momma took at turn at each of their bedsides...watching them sleep, still and lovely... I kissed their little heads, I took a deep breath, drinking in each of their sweet smells... This is the way I will always remember my boys...in my minds eye... the breathtaking slideshow in my memory...
The little moments are unsurpassed... little boys become men...
I love you Sebastian...
The only constant in life is change... there is no love like a mother's love...
I love you Brooklyn...
Life needs to develop a slower pace.... babies are the sweetest of God's gracious gifts...
Children fall in love...
It's late...
Congratulations Hadley... thank you for giving me the opprotunity to reflect and be a
small part of your big day...
1 comment:
I love this post more than you can understand. I dropped Ethan off at preschool this morning...lunch box in tow...and its so true. Life is way too fast. I'm cherishing each and every moment I have with them as little boys and holding onto the "baby" phase as long as life will let me. You are an amazing mother Corey. Your boys are truly blessed to have you!
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