| 8:39p |
Crazy/fun weekend!
I don't know that I've mentioned my childhood friend Emily in here a whole lot, but she's been a very important part of my growing up. We were especially close in high school...I think I have more "inside jokes" with her than with any other friend. We also went through a lot of spiritual development together, and we have such different personalities that we pushed each other a LOT. She is very feisty and stubborn, while I was, in contrast, very much a peacemaker. She likes to argue and I value harmony. I love it and I wouldn't have her any other way.
Well, Emily got married this weekend! She asked me to be a bridesmaid this summer, and I, of course, said yes. She originally was going to have the wedding in our hometown, but then switched it to Boise, Idaho. At first I was a little freaked out, because it meant spending more money! But then she told me that if I could take care of getting over there, I would have a place to stay and transportation within Boise and food and all that good stuff.
Em said after a bad experience with a boy her first year of college, that she was never going to date, fall in love, or get married. And she stuck to it pretty hard, too. But then sometime, a little more than halfway through our junior year of college, she was a ski instructor with Andy. Andy kept trying to get her to go out with him, and she adamantly insisted that she wouldn't date. Andy had spent some time in the service, and after that, wanted to become Catholic. Since he knew that Em was Catholic, and that was something very important to her, he asked her to be his sponsor. The rest is history. One of the groomsmen remarked last night that Em has a lot of power in this relationship: the groomsman said that Andy told him that he was like a deer in the headlights in her presence. And she has said before that he is wonderful to her; she has to be careful what she asks for, because he will do everything he can to get it for her. As she was leaving the reception last night, she hugged me like four times in a row, and when we finally said goodbye, she said so full of emotion "Meg, I cannot wait for you to find someone who makes you as happy as Andy makes me." And I know she will be a wonderful wife, too. She's not my friend for no reason at all, after all. I choose my friends from among people who I think are wonderful.
Anyway, I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself.
I got to the airport, and wandered around for awhile, then went to find my gate. When I got there, I found one of the other bridesmaids who Em and I also grew up with, and I was a lot closer to pre-highschool. Her name is Nancy and she got married a couple of years ago. She went through kind of a "wild child" phase at the end of high school, and that was before I put up with friends who did things like...well...drinking, mainly. So she and I sort of drifted apart. Never any hard feelings though. Anyway, we talked for about an hour before we got on the flight, then got put in the same hotel room when we got to Boise! This turned out to be a tremendous blessing...we stayed up late talking both nights, and bonded so much. If anything, I'm more of a "wild child" between the two of us now...she is so grounded in her faith, and we had lots of good conversations about men and relationships, and why her husband was so much better to her than all the guys she dated, and what's important to her in her marriage, and that good stuff.
Look at me, again, I'm getting ahead of myself. So one of the first things we did in Boise was the wedding rehearsal, then went back to Em's apartment for sandwiches afterward, then out to the bars! It was...well...interesting. We started out at this club (China Blue) WAY too early (8:30ish) and nobody was there. There were a few people around the bar, and one middle-aged guy who was dancing on stage. The 6 of us girls (Em, and 5 of us bridesmaids, one bridesmaid was the groom's 18-year-old sister who is very good friends with Em's 17-year-old brother, so they stayed back and played wii) went out to the dance floor and started dancing in a circle, and this guy came and danced in the middle, then tried to start dancing up on all of us...and told us that he just got divorced on halloween...and then we left.
We walked around downtown Boise a little bit, to the parents' hotel to see Em's grandparents and aunts and uncles, then went to a bar across from the club we had been at. I walked in, took a look around, and the first person I saw was Justin Weis. I tapped Emily's sister Renee (the maid of honor) on the shoulder and said "Uhhh...I have to go get some air" and dashed outside. Thankfully, Ren knows Justin and the situation, so when she saw him, she knew what my motivation was. Good lord I hadn't seen him in a year. I sat outside, trying to come up with a game plan. I knew I couldn't just stay outside the whole night, but I wanted to collect myself before he saw me. Unfortunately, after about 5 minutes, he walked outside. He had seen Renee in the bar, so I think it was less of a shock to see me there, and I just nodded at him, half-hoping he would do the same and continue on his way. Instead he said "oh...uh...hi! Why are you in Boise?" and I said "Oh...hi Justin...I'm in Boise for a wedding." He said "Oh." I said "So...uh...how is life?" and he was like "Oh...life is...good." Then Saint Renee came running out and said "Hey Meg, Em wants you!" so I said "Oh, I'm being paged by the bride...later." He said "Later" and that was it. It was funny though. Seeing him didn't make me angry. It didn't make me want to go be close to him, but I'm so through being bitter. I'm still very sad that the whole friendship-with-Melissa thing isn't working out so well, but she made her own choices just like he made his and at this point, I really have to let her have responsibility for any issues I have with her and not blame it ALL on him. But nobody worry that I'm going to up and start another toxic friendship with him...I think I kicked him soundly out of my life when I told him that my dad, who he's always been afraid of, said that he's not welcome in our home anymore!
Em gave the bridal party yoga mats and bags that SHE MADE HERSELF for the yoga mats as a gift, and also paid for us all to have a private yoga session together the morning of the wedding! It was beautiful, relaxing, and intimate. Then we rushed off to get our hair and nails done (I hate to brag but my hair looked AMAZING...once I get pictures I'll post some!), then we helped Em do makeup so she could get pictures, then we showed up for pictures and then the WEDDING MASS happened and it was amazing and beautiful, and I swear she was the most beautiful bride I've ever seen. We danced the night away at a small-ish, intimate reception at the penthouse of the C.W. Moore building, and I swear that Em and Andy shared at least a few moments with every guest. She didn't seem like a bridezilla or anything...I can't even express how genuinely greatful they seemed to all of us for being there, so not self-focused. It was amazingly beautiful, I wish i could give a better word-snapshot, but you really had to be there.
Then Nance and I stayed up till 2am talking :-D. For the first time since mid-2005, I spoke openly with someone about the fact that I used to have an eating disorder without being scared that they'd think differently of me!! (THAT is how deep of a conversation it was.)
I went running this morning because the Mariott I was staying at was very close to the stadium at Boise State, and I wanted to see the blue turf. It was funny looking. I'm a little partial to Reser. But I actually enjoyed running! I think it's more fun when you're in new surroundings.
On the flight home, I had a layover in Spokane, Washington, and one of the bridesmaids, Laura, was going to Spokane too, so we switched seats and sat next to each other. She's graduating from Gonzaga this year in psychology, and wants to go into social work. Catch this...she works at a residential treatment center with adolescent boys and she's applying to Portland State for her Master's in Social Work! Two peas in a pod, I tell ya!
Anyway, the point was, this was an amazing weekend of bonding and fun and spiritual growth. This is more for my records than anything else because I want to remember everything, but if you made it all the way through, big kudos to you!!! |