Sunday, June 15, 2008

five pre-wedding reactions

1. the allergic reaction: the three-day aftermath from what should have been a routine salon visit. Pain and blisters are a bad combo. Half a week later, my face is still a little messed up, but it should be good by the wedding. Yikes.

2. the inappropriate reaction(s): the reply I got from the clerk at the department store. I pushed the silver necklace I got for my bridesmaid dress across the counter; she asked about the occasion. I gave my quick “younger sister getting married, super excited, can’t believe it’s next week” speech. And then she told my parents and I stories about how, in her country, younger sisters would never get married before the older sisters.

She doubled over with laughter at the cash register, telling us about how an older sister’s spinsterhood would practically doom her younger sisters… Well, thanks very much for that. I wandered over to look at the pearl selections until she finished. (Actually, this sort of thing happens a lot: people comment equally on how strange it must be, having a youngest sister get married first, or they give me “how-to-meet-boys” advice, when can’t we just all be excited for Adrienne and Jon, and leave everything else behind?)

3. the oxidation reaction: what’s been happening to my parents’ wedding silver: it’s so tarnished that some platters look as iridescent as bubbles. One goes from blue to orange to pink. But a bit of scrubbing, a bit of polish, a lot more scrubbing, and many blackened fingers later, it’s fit for Saturday’s reception.

4. the shocked-into-laughter reaction: my little sister, bride-to-be, walked into our bedroom and found me at work on… another knitting project. She couldn’t believe it: less than 24 hours after wrapping their four finished floor pillows (which turned out very well, I might add). “You’re obsessed!” she cried, cracking up. And I guess it’s true. But I’ve wanted to learn lace for a long time now, so I’m working through an eyelet pattern, just for practice…

5. the involuntary reaction: ahhhhhhhhs and floods of nostalgia. Adrienne brought her dress back from the store, where it was pressed and cleaned up before the big day. I can’t help but look at her and see two girls at the same time. One is my fun-loving little sister, who would run around with me after church on Sundays, each of us still in our shiny white slips and white tights. (I can’t even imagine anymore how funny that must have seen: I just remember feeling elegant, ha!) We’d pretend not to be brides, but mermaids, in post-Ariel fashion. I would boss her around mercilessly, and she’d always make me laugh… And now, I see her theology degree, I remember all her stories from the years touring with her college choirs, and I see the ring on her finger and know that she’ll make an amazing wife. She was just accepted to a graduate school last Friday, and her future is oh-so bright. I couldn’t be prouder of her, or happier for Jon.

It’s all happening on SATURDAY. Six more days. And meanwhile, we are checking and rechecking our lists, finalizing details, running the last errands. A year and a half of preparation ends on Saturday… what next? Maybe I’ll just finish this novel, eh?—jl

Posted by Jenn Langefeld on 06/15 at 03:16 PM
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