Monday, Monday...

We're back!

The wedding was too much fun! It was very personal and reflected the personalities of my sister and her fiance perfectly--the importance of family and friends to both of them, their lack of ostentation, their love of really good things, and their commitment to one another.

We gathered in one of the oldest churches in Cambridge, Massachusetts (and therefore one of the oldest in the US; see photo of the chancel above), up in the chancel, the couple in front of my brother-in-law and myself (we were co-officiating), with the family gathered around behind them, their children beside them (her sons were best men and his daughters were maids of honour). I welcomed everyone there, my brother-in-law (The Prof) gave a greeting and recognized the families, I led them in their vows, The Prof helped them exchange rings, my niece sang "Some Enchanted Evening" and The Prof and I jointly declared them married!

The church runs a preschool, and that's where my sister and (new) brother-in-law met--their children were in the preschool together. Then a couple of years ago (and a couple of divorces later), they met again and fell in love. So it only seemed appropriate that they be married where they had met, and that their children, the reason they knew each other in the first place, should take part in the wedding.

And then we ate! Actually, we pretty much ate non-stop all weekend, in the manner of family gatherings. Two of my sisters and three of my nieces live in the Boston area, so it was a progressive feast, really.

The only downer occurred Friday as DP and I were getting on the plane to fly out--I twisted my knee badly trying to slide into those ridiculously narrow rows of seats. Luckily another brother-in-law (the Literary Doc) is, in fact, a physician, and wrote me a prescription for Motrin, which enabled me to get around and participate in all the events rather than lie in my hotel room (nice as it was) and moan in pain. Thank you Literary Doc!

My doctor here in River City is, of course, on vacation this week. However, this morning (we got home late last night) I went to the walk-in clinic attached to her practice and was told I have a sprained knee. Ice, more Motrin, elevation, and as little walking as possible. Well, it's annoying, but not debilitating. Embarrassing more than anything.

My mind was taken off the pain and annoyance by an absolutely hysterical book, Fat Girls and Lawn Chairs, that I can highly recommend. It's the childhood (and adult) adventures of a highly imaginative woman growing up in rural south-western Michigan, and the predicaments she, her two sisters, and her two brothers, get into. Childbirth, her father's eyesight, how to de-magnify a car ignition, dive-bombing parakeets, rocks, and dangerous lawn chairs are all fodder for this funny, funny woman, Cheryl Peck. (I had to look her name up on AbeBooks because I couldn't remember it and it seemed like too much trouble to take the ice off my knee, hoist the leg to the ground, hobble into the next room and around the bed to get to the book to find out what her name was...that is pathetic!). Get it. Read it. But be sure you're around people who know you, because you WILL laugh out loud.

The other book I read this weekend (still working on it) was Five Sisters, by James Fox, the biography of the five Langhorne sisters of Virginia--one (Irene) was THE Gibson girl, one was Nancy Astor (as in Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, one of the richest families in the world in the early 1900s), who became the first female MP; and the others were equally famous. They were the celebrities of their times, known for their charity work (the Astor estates were used as hospitals in both World Wars), their beauty, and their wealth. It's fascinating history, involving politics, gossip, high society, spirituality (Nancy Astor was a fervent Christian Scientist), and the last of an era. They knew all the famous people, from Winston Churchill and Asquith to James Barrie and William James, and participated in history in amazing ways. Just a fascinating book.

While we're on books, I'm also reading Original Blessing, by Matthew Fax. I'm finding it very interesting, but I don't think I can draw any conclusions until I finish it.

Well, since I can't do laundry, mow the lawn or make dinner (aw shucks!), I guess I'll get some reading done today!