One of my best friends over the last 8 years got married today. It was beautiful and I cried a few times. I've also felt a teensy bit self pitying because it's just weird to call each other best friends for years, then not be her closest girlfriend at a time like this. Not that I deserved to be Maid of Honor. I couldn't have done all that Jen did, being way out in Seattle, not knowing hardly anyone here, and not being able to afford flights to attend any of her 5 bridal showers nor her 3 bachelorette parties. Much less arrange them, like Jen did. I think if I had a chance to go back and do things differently, I would have attempted to come out for the bachelorette party weekend. During the wedding ceremony, the toasts, and then the next day at Pat's parents house for breakfast, I felt deeply upset that I had missed out on being closer to Pol throughout the prior parties, planning and preparations. At times our differences seem pretty strong - she's a CPA, now married and planning on having a family someday, living in the house Pat built in rural Michigan, mostly hanging out with his large family or her family or all of their Michigan State friends - all from Michigan and all still living there. Most of them married. I'm completely on the other end of the spectrum with my vagabond lifestyle, disconnected family, disinterest in the institution of marriage and the idea of having my own children. But past all that, we get along very well and understand each other for the most part. Both of us, like many of my close girlfriends, have this similar trait that bonds us to other slightly introverted or inexplicably different women. There's lots of women who are touchy feely, like to whoop it up and "go dancing!" and have this really typical gregarious sisterhood that we never truly connected with, so we found other women who were socially similar. I'm not really explaining this well. It's not that we're missing something. It just feels different. Nan, Pol, Sasha and Sone would all understand what I'm saying. Our lifestyle differences are huge but our communication and understanding are spot on. It was hard not spending more intimate time with my friend whom I rarely see. I felt really selfish. And when I said goodbye yesterday morning I felt very sad. We both cried and for a second I felt like I was losing her forever but that's probably not true.
...anyway...
one pic here is of the gifts that were given to the bridesmaids and the other is of her handsome husband Pat, playing pool the night before the wedding. By midnight after the wedding everyone was good and wasted. Actually the groomsmen were pretty sauced during the ceremony I think. Not Pat, though. I was drinking double whiskey sours and lost my camera when we decided to steal golf carts and ride around the resort.
I'm going to post a pic of Andrea's and hopefully she won't mind. Pol looks so happy and this pic really warms my heart.
