Blessing's Big Day

“Joe, why aren’t you dressed yet?”

This was the third time someone had asked Joe why he wasn’t in more appropriate attire for the wedding yet.

“I don’t want to. I might get changed in the van…”

“Well, that’s your choice,” said Dad.

Rose’s eyes bugged. “No, it’s our choice!”

The entire family (minus Francis, who claimed he didn’t know about the wedding until two days ago and therefore couldn’t take off work) then left only about fifteen minutes late for our cousin’s wedding in Columbia.

“So, did you come down in the Joy Bus?” Uncle Balthasar laughed at us when we walked into the sanctuary about two hours later.

The Fifteen Passenger Van: still slightly embarrassing, but convenient.

Anyway, we rolled in there for Blessing’s ceremony (the 8th of fifteen grandchildren to tie the knot, literally this time, apparently. Two pieces of rope were tied together after communion).

The reception at Musaeo’s. Already the DJ was laughing at us as we drove up.

“Park in the back, Dad! Park in the back!”

No such luck.

Mini bacon rosemary pizzas, corned beef and horseradish on toast, and green/yellow tortilla pinwheel vegetable wraps waited inside for dinner. I should probably be more adept at food description by this point in my life, but I call it how I see it. Carrie picked out the rosemary; I’m not sure I could have known.

Puck, meanwhile, tore up the place with his second cousins. He returned for a brief check-in with a rope of glow sticks perched on his head like a crown.

“Whoa, it’s turned into a Rave!” Carrie observed.

A few toasts and introductory dances led Uncle Balthasar to lean over and note, “Someone’s got to teach Hilario how to dance the waltz! Man!”

“I LOVE THIS BOOM PARTY!” Puck announced later, as the music began cranking up and he joined his cousins on the dance floor.

“Oh…” Carrie said, “he’s doing The Windmill now.”

Flailing arms everywhere. Fortunately, no one was hit.

After a few slices of cake were passed around, we hit the long road back, Puck dancing out to the van concluding that it had been a “wonderful night!”