Botanical Fantastical Wedding

It is a pretty amazing thing to become witness to the wedding of your child. Some times is take a pinch to see if this thing is real or not. Yesterday finally came as my wife and I had imagined so many years ago.  Our little boy meeting the girl of his dreams and watching them become man and wife. Being the parents of the groom leaves us with little to do, but I can tell you that it certainly takes a lot of planning and preparation on behalf of the bride and her family to pull it off. Countless hours of decisions to make the event come off without a hitch.

I sat there in the front seat listening to pastor speak his beginning comments.  We all sit on the patio of the Norfolk Botanical Gardens surrounded by the splendor of all the beautiful plants and flowers. Truly an amazing evening.  The temperature was right. The wind was right. The venue was oh so perfect. I tried to clear my head of any pre or post things that bobbled through my mind and only focus on the moment.  You know sometimes i drift.  Not this time. I could sit there and listen to the words and watch the reactions of those standing in front of us.  The pastor spoke from Ephesians which is pretty typical.  But he went back to the Book of Genesis of when God was creating the earth.  I love these scriptures as they speak of how God was so pleased with his work.  He even said so.  He created the light....and it was good. He created the firmament....and it was good. so on and so on and each time it was good.  Until it came time for God to create man.  He didn't speak him into existence, profoundly he created man from the dust of the earth.  And when he did, he looked upon his craftiness and said......this is VERY good.   I love these scriptures.

The next part is always amazing to me.  Because when God looked at all these things and man by himself....alone.....he said...."this is not good".  Alone is not good.  So he gave man a helpmate.  He gave man woman. I can tell you that I don't know how I would have made it all these years without my "helpmate". I am sure our son will feel the same way.

The bride was beautiful. The groom was handsome. All things came together perfectly yesterday evening and God made the most amazing union between two individuals.  Man and Wife.  I didn't have any tears yesterday.  No sadness at all really.  I hadn't lost a son.  I had gained a daughter. I was proud.  A proud papa.

As time goes on, my wife and I grow older and see our babies grow up to be so responsible, self confident and well...BIG.  They are not babies anymore.  They are becoming themselves.  A path that we set them on all those years ago. Slowly, our little house that just a few short years ago was bursting at the seams.  The bathroom that was always busy.....schedules had to be made for Sunday morning showers and school day preparations. The yard that was filled with mud puddles from continuous afternoon football games. All of those things have since come to an end. Yes, the only sad part is that our little house just just a bit empty now. The second bathroom isn't used often.  The kitchen is usually clean and no more piles of dirty dishes in the sink. Clothes no longer find a home on the bottom of the stairway leading towards the bedrooms. And yes, when some is cleaned....it stays that was for a bit longer.  Those days were hectic, but they will also be missed.  Now we just prepare the home for the occasional visits by our little ones.

God bless you kids.  We love you and will always be there for you......ok, so now a few tears.
Be faithful my friends.

The Pleasure Zone

Have you ever ventured in to the "PLEASURE ZONE"? Has your journey of life allowed to you finally reach this euphoric land. No this is some XXX rated blog post....get your minds out of the gutter.  I am talking about the awesome feeling you receive once you have completed an amazing task.  Like running a marathon for the first time....each time as well, I guess.  Our working on something so diligently that you it seems you will never see its completion...but then you finally reach that destination. That light at the end of the tunnel has finally arrived and no it wasn't the head light of an oncoming train....just the glow of achieving the gold.

Sometimes I feel this way when I am doing the tasks around the house.  It is pretty commonly known that our house is an experiment in progress.  A never ending series of goals, lists, to-dos and chores that seem like they never end. This glorious awakening occurs when even just one of those items are accomplished.  Yep....you toiled and fussed and smashed your fingers with the hammer...not once but a few times, like you didn't learn the first time you hit your thumb! Your back now aches, your clothes are drenched with sweat....but it is finally done!  And now you can look back and see it's splendor and relish in its completeness.

Ok, this might sound a bit hokey (no disrespect to any of the VT fans) but truly this is a joy.  You can only understand this if you have gone thru it.....no, not pay someone to do the work.....that doesn't count.  You have to actually DO THE WORK. It is okay for some help from family or friends, but the bulk of the sweat has to be your own....sweat equity so to speak.

We finished pulling out all the weeds in our stone patio this weekend.  I believe that there was far more grass/weeds than stones.....but that wasn't the point.  our backs were aching, hands sore, legs stiff to the point of making it difficult to walk on Monday morning (cannot bend down and pick up another thing....if I drop something....it is going to stay down there) and dirt still gathered underneath the edge of our finger nails.......Yes I cleaned then...12 times.  And what I couldn't clean I trim back.....no more finger nail to trim.  But here is the JOYOUS, GLORIOUS REWARD! we look back and see the clean patio (only a few strays of grass blades here and there) and get to say..."Look at that! We have a patio".  So very cool!

A smile, one last gander at our prize and inside we go to take a hot shower and a few ibuprofen....4 to be exact. And the comment we make to each other....." I think we shouldn't let the grass grow over the rocks again"......DUH!

Have a rewarding day my friends!