The self-healing this morning is wearing
off now; and I am so ready to have a comparatively early night where getting
some sleep is an option!
Continuing the wedding weekend report from
where I left off this morning before I got ready for Tai Chi by the river;
Michael, Ethan, and Ehlana joined me for that while Mom and Dad slept in for
nearly an extra hour. The main early
morning news, though, was that my grandparents stopped by on their way out of
town to say goodbye to us – and I hadn’t even thought about them leaving on
their trip today for days. They’ll be in
Canada for the next four weeks; so I was really glad that they made the round
to say goodbye to their grandchildren before heading for the airport. I hope that they have a great time while
they’re away, and I loved that short cameo handful of minutes with them; but
then they were off to see Zack and Brianna while I needed to hit the shower and
get ready for church – and my breakfast date at Michael’s house.
I was put to work as soon as I got there;
helped with cooking and setting up for breakfast; and then did a bit of
babysitting when the kids were ready to go while Michael’s cousins took turns
getting ready for the day. Though we had
varying amounts of sleep; Miranda and I were the only members of our breakfast
group that didn’t look tired out – and we were fairly bluntly told several
times that we were hated for our sunny dispositions. Miranda might legitimately deserve that, but I
cheated; so they should really hate me for being able to do that.
The being tired issue did mean that Jacob
opted for a comparatively simple breakfast menu compared to his usual Sunday
morning masterpieces; but it was not having Jake and Stephanie there that
really made that entire scene feel strange and just a little bit empty. Right now, ten months apart seems like a very
long time – especially after spending extra time with them over the past few
weeks. As I’m writing this, Jake and
Stephanie are winging their way across the Atlantic; and I seriously doubt that
they’re missing any of us right now – even though I’m sure that they eventually
will miss us now and then.
For the record, none of us have a problem
with that. If missing us was number one
in their thoughts on the first full day of their new life together; they either
shouldn’t have gotten married or need their heads examined!
We still had fun at breakfast, and it was
the wedding and reception recaps that kept us entertained while we ate. Being at the head table, or the parents of
the groom, kept some of us out of the loop for a lot of the action going on
around the dining room that didn’t have anything to do with Jake, Stephanie, or
their wedding. I heard a few more
stories at church too, and while we’re only a bit more than half-way through
the usual wedding season here; I’ll predict that Jake and Stephanie’s wedding
will be number one this year if all of those stories and comments are any
indication.
The church service and Sunday school felt
like a break in the non-stop action today, at least in hindsight; but I was
mostly thinking about the wedding while we were there – not that I wasn’t
paying attention to Pastor John during the service before Sunday school! ;^)
Walking into the sanctuary with Michael and
his family, my first thoughts were about all of the people that helped out with
the wedding in ways that I didn’t pay any attention to yesterday. I know how long it took to decorate the
church on Friday; so I can guess how long it took to clean up after the wedding
– and that work was done by a group of volunteers while we were busy celebrating
and having fun. While the sanctuary was
back to normal except for the wedding flower arrangements that were still at
the front of the sanctuary until they were sent home with some deserving
recipients; I still replayed favorite moments from yesterday afternoon – and had
fun with Michael while doing that.
The reason that church and Sunday school
felt like a break was because it’s been all work since then. I went to the Inn with Michael immediately
after church; and we pitched in to get the buffet lunch ready for that
invitation-only lunch. All visiting
wedding guests were on that list; and the choice of having a buffet was
entirely for them since most wouldn’t have wanted to stay for one of the Sunday
night buffets before heading home. As
members of the wedding party, Michael and I were also required to co-host the
meal, so we could only work in the kitchen until the first wave of food went
out to the buffet table; but then we didn’t get a break then because we were
put on kid control and entertainment duties.
Violet and Dillon were in charge of the
visiting families group; Mitch and Lynn hosted the friends group; Josiah and
Christina took care of the friends of the parents; and Rebecca and Lucas had
the teens – the teen kids for pretty much all of the adults in the room. Michael and I had the toughest group to get
fed and keep entertained; but then we also had the most fun – or at least I
think that we did. There were quite a
few kids, so we needed some help with them; but we were also the only teens
supervising the kid tables from start to finish for the meal.
That blast of food and fun wrapped up at
one-thirty; and then Michael and I were back in the kitchen to help with the
clean-up while Rebecca and Lucas went home to continue the kid watching for
their youngest cousins while the parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents
packed and got ready to leave for home.
Helping out there was a tag-team effort; and Michael and I were the
second-half of that effort – getting to the house in time to help with hauling
luggage downstairs and loading up the three vehicles while Rebecca went back to
the Inn and Lucas stayed to help us until our guests headed home.
Those goodbyes didn’t take long once the
work was done. I can’t totally blame
Michael’s family for it, since I love nearly everything that the Olde Bakery
makes and sells; but it still felt strange to find out later that they’d spent
more time picking out treats to take home with them at the bakery than they
spent on the goodbye hugs and kisses with us.
We know that for sure because after they left us, Michael and I went
over to my house to say goodbye to Dawn, Jillian, Violet, and Dillon as they
were leaving too; we went for a swim with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden; and
had a snack break with them, Mom, and Dad before heading back to the Inn – and saw
his family just leaving the bakery and
heading out of town.
Let’s not get bogged down with this, since
it isn’t a big deal or even a surprise; but it does say something about a
person when they need to spend more time at a favorite store than with family
during what will likely be the only visit of the year for most or all of them.
After having the Inn closed to the public
for dinner yesterday and lunch today, there was some pent-up demand for their
customers; and the dining room was packed for both buffet sittings. Miranda likely squeezed out another
half-sitting by starting early, running late, and turning over tables as
quickly as she could. Even with all of
that effort; customers were turned away – or chose not to wait for tables once
Miranda had a waiting list that filled the seating for the second buffet.
Michael, Rebecca, Jenny, and I worked
together a lot of the time tonight, and the one great thing about being so busy
was that we didn’t have time to miss Jake and Stephanie too much – though we
all still did miss them. There’s just
something very special about Michael and his family when they’re all working
together; and a little piece of that is missing whenever one or more of them
are away. I think that the Witch Falls
magic is just a tiny bit weaker when loved ones aren’t close.
If you use that some day in your town
legends stories, Miranda, you’re welcome; and I’m glad you like the idea!
The work tonight was tough on all of us,
and while missing Jake and Stephanie was part of that; it wasn’t the only
issue. We were short-staffed because of
yesterday and other issues; it was very hot in the kitchen; and Miranda had
also needed to deal with a full turnover of the guest rooms with the departing
wedding guests and inbound customers that were vacationing for the first week
of August. I wasn’t put on one of those
room-cleaning crews; but that did take away from the help with had in the
kitchen for a few hours.
The dinner work details aren’t really that
important. Michael and I stayed until
close; he walked me home; and I pretty much came straight up to bed except for
short chats with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana.
With no overnight guests in the house, including Violet and Dillon; it
seems very quiet by comparison. I’m okay
with that; but it’s still noticeable – and palpable. Some Jacuzzi time was first on my to-do list
once I was in my room; I really needed that soak in the tub; and didn’t even
bother to do any multi-tasking while taking that break.
Once I was ready and in bed with Mandy and
my computer, I did my email and computer checks; replied to emails from Dawn,
Jillian, and Violet; took care of some family business work; and had a
text-chat with Grandma and Grandpa before I started in on this update. They’re safely at their hotel after a long
trip to the west coast of British Columbia, and though the time change will
likely mess them up for a couple of days; they’re well and looking forward to
their western Canada adventures. Getting
some sleep is next on my list, but before I go there; let’s go over some
weekend details that got lost while I’ve focused on the wedding and then take a
quick look at the week ahead.
First up, since I was just thinking about
Violet and Dillon; Kyle Landry headed off to football training camp on
Friday. Most of my favorite collegians
won’t be leaving for school for at least a couple of weeks; but I’m bringing
Kyle’s early departure up because it’s a safe bet that Tim will be taking his
football training to the next level on Monday.
That’ll mean that Michael and I won’t be spending much time together on
weekday mornings – unless Rowen and I join in on those workouts. They’re also going to begin having two
workouts a week on farms so that some of the guys – like Lucas – can train with
them too; and the first one for that will be out on the Norton farm on Tuesday
morning.
Rowen and I should probably start thinking
about cheerleading soon too; but I’m too tired to think about that tonight; so
let’s not go there.
Getting away from football, and even though
I’m wishing for some down time; I don’t think that’s going to work out for
me. Uncle Nick’s parents will be moving
this week, and I’ll be volunteering to help – whether that’s with the actual
work or kid control so that the adults can be free to pitch in. The Malloys will be here tomorrow for another
work visit for Terry, and while they’ll only be here for one night; I’ll spend
as much time with them as I can around everything else I’ll have on the
go. Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I have a
friend’s birthday party this week; and two baseball games on the weekend.
Why am I not already sleeping? All of that is adding up to exhausting – and I’m
only thinking about it; not doing anything!
Since the answer to that question is that I
have no idea and should be sleeping while I can, that’s all I have for tonight;
and, until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
