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Wedding Weekend: Smitten
Tuesday, April 8, 2008 The wedding was eons ago. Or at least, last last weekend. It feels like forever. And yet, not long enough for the truly madly deeply that is a ring bearer-flower grrrl preschooler love to fade.
Oh how Lil E fell for the flower grrrl, Claire. And how could he not? The first time I met her, she fluffed her wavy blond bob and ask me if she could show me how she poses when she vacuums for her mommy. I adored her immediately.
At the bridal shower, she let me tie ribbons from the We should all be gazed upon with this kind of affection, should we not?
wedding gifts in her hair and on her wrist and around her waist. When I
winked at her across the brunch table, she saucily winked back.
I couldn't wait for Claire to meet Lil E. I had this instinct he'd
appreciate her sassiness and silliness and shoes. Hey, the kid knows
good shoes (what can I say? I'm raising that boy right).
He was crushed when she couldn't come to the rehearsal dinner. I'd been
talking her up and he even told Molls a few days beforehand, "I'm just
so excited to meet Claire. I hear she's very...sassy."
We laughed but he was serious. I could see it in his nod and knitted
brow. When a friend of mine who was reading in the wedding stepped in
to escort Lil E in the rehearsal and suggested he carry a piece of
paper with her scripture on it instead of the satin ring pillow, he
would have none of it. This was business, albeit bridal business, to
the boy and he was expecting the real thing.
When she arrived the day of the wedding, she had a sparkling barrette
and shoes, a manicure and lipstick. She was a vision in white taffeta.
And Lil E was suited up in a small size tux and satin vest with a
silver bow tie. His hair was carefully de-bedheaded and he held his
shoulders back as he practiced carrying the pillow "like a cake" and
then spinning it around and around on his wrist when he thought no one
was looking. He had shiny new shoes on and he was so happy, so excited.
When he met her, she immediately grabbed his hand. He told her he'd
heard a lot about her. My heart immediately swelled. He was polite in
Claire's presence and it made me proud. He is like this with adults and
it is an expectation we have in our family. But grrrls? Well, that
makes me feel hopeful for everything from seventh grade on.
holding hands, it was a long time or simple circumstance of sitting
down that pulled them apart. They did a beautifully walking down the
aisle with tulips and the pillow and after the wedding, stood patiently
with hands still held while we took group photo after group photo.
He asked her if she'd seen Cars. She told him where to stand and
that the view of the lake was really the view of the beach. He made
monkey ears in some strange testosterone way of impressing her and he
begged me to find her as soon as we found our seat in the dining room
at the reception.
They danced many dances. He couldn't stop looking at her. She had
cousins and aunts and uncles there and got distracted but he just
couldn't back down. She obliged his requests to dance and talk and play
many times and he was even more happy, even more excited.
He went home weary, well after his bedtime and with most of his tux untucked or peeled off. He slept hard.
The next morning, he woke up too early and climbed into bed with me,
who went to bed too late. I told him to be still and quiet for a while
and so we snuggled in my bed and I listened to the syncopation of our
breathing, felt the warmth of his body wrapped in pajamas, tried to
fall back asleep while he played with my hair.
And then, he sighed deeply and looked at me so intensely, I suddenly opened my eyes. He was only inches away from my face.
"OH!" He burst out with a hint of contrived irritation.
"What, honey?" I asked.
"I just can't stop thinking about Claire!" he answered, and this time, with such truth and sincerity.
My heart broke and overflowed in that moment to hear that longing, see
that gaze as he dialed back into his memories of the previous night.
It was the night the ring bearer met the flower grrrl. And she was glorious.
[photo credits: Apollonia Ponticiello (top photo), Jessica Ashley (lower photo)]
Reader Comments (7)
Made me want to cry, and I've only had one glass of wine.
Seriously, I wrote about about my brother's wedding last year and couldn't find the words. This is the post I wanted to write.