The Superior Express -

Holy cow! What a weekend! Two major events in two days was a little much. Jessica, now my daughter-in-law, graduated from Lawrence-Nelson High School on Saturday. I had the pleasure of helping out with her reception, and I think the turn out was a bit more than her mom, Kasey, had expected because we ran out of sloppy joes. All in all it was a good day, and I’m thankful I got a sloppy joe before it was all gone.

We left Jessica’s reception early so we could congratulate Andrew Koehler, Rocky Miller and Roy Davidson. Those three are kind of like my adopted sons. I have so many adopted children, but every year a few more walk that stage and go on to bigger and better things. Some stay in touch, and some don’t but I think of them all often.

After graduation parties, we came home to load the vehicles and headed to Lovewell to start decorating for the wedding. I am surprised with the amount of stuff my tiny car will hold when packed correctly. It was a late night and a bit hectic, but for the most part everything that could get finished and ready for the big day was taken care of.

I got off to a late start on Sunday, which I am afraid caused some frustration. The arbor and chairs needed to be set up early and I was supposed to be there to coordinate. Thankfully, it all worked out. With the help of the groomsmen and dads, we got it all set up and decorated outside for the ceremony, and even got the bride’s stamp of approval when she stopped in to wrangle the groom and groomsmen.

Once that was done, George, Andrew, father of the bride, and I were left to hang lights above the dance floor and chop veggies for the tacos and set up the meal. I talked the dads into hanging the lights while I finished getting dolled up. All was going great until it came to stapling the end of the strings of lights to the ceiling. The stapler slipped and the staple went through the wire and half of our lights went out. So the two went to work on splicing the tiny little wires back together. Thankfully, the splice held and the lights were beautiful.

Once the lights were up, the dads got to work on the veggies. Andrew sliced his finger open while cutting up tomatoes, so George took over that task, and Andrew chopped onions in the food processor instead. Carson and Bailey, Jessica’s brother and his girlfriend, possibly regretted their decision to stop by because they got put to work chopping lettuce, running errands and setting up the food. When Julia, my daughter-in-law, arrived, she also got put to work helping to set up the buffet line and with stirring the taco meat and rice.

I’m not sure how everything managed to get set up, but it did. I was a little concerned about our families playing nice, especially my side, since both Jacob and Jessica have blended families. Dwight, Andrew and Kasey, did wonderfully, while Dean, Mel, George and I did all right. There was a bit of tension between my ex-husband, Dean, and the new in-laws, both Jessica’s family and Julia, mostly cause Dean is as stubborn as a mule, and will admit it freely. George and I acted as a buffer and we made it through. I had a blended family before it became the new normal so we did confuse Aleah, the photographer, a bit with my two dads and three moms. That’s to be expected, LOL! I love when I can have all my parents together. I wish it happened more often.

The decorations that Kasey and Jessica put together were simple and elegant. The weather was perfect. It was a beautiful day for a wedding. I teared up a couple times, not because I was sad, but because I was so happy for Jacob and Jessica. Today my family is just a little bigger, and my heart couldn’t be happier. My son married one of my best friend’s daughters, bringing our families even closer together. In the end, all the crazy running around was worth it to see how happy they were, and to know that they had gotten a day that would be fondly remembered. X’s & O’s.