41 Days
This was one of the best weekends of my life. I said the same thing last weekend…and the weekend before.
This weekend I returned to Beachwood for a bridal shower thrown for me by my mother’s closest friends. What a gift they gave me. It was amazing to open the gorgeous gifts and delightful to lunch over a quaint meal among ladies, but it was most incredible to be surrounded by family and friends from east and west, old and new. I loved every second of it.
I heard my friend Laura once say that getting married is humbling. She was so right. The gifts people buy, the miles people travel, the poems that they write, the planning that is required…all for our family. NY, CT, IL, PA, etc. For a shower! My friends outdid themselves, even though we’re new to this wedding “stuff.” I am so lucky. And Jason? He felt more like family this weekend than he ever has. He felt like he belonged to more than just me. I loved this most.
Twice recently I’ve doubted living in Chicago. I miss my family, I tell Jason. We will revisit our future as it unfolds, but know for sure that family is most important. My mother raised her three offspring to believe that you drive to NJ for Thanksgiving, drive to CT for Passover and cross Canadian borders when cousins bat-mitzvah. I realize now the effort it takes to get from Ohio to these simchas. Jason and I will be no different than my parents were. It’s what you do - yes because you want to, but more because you cannot imagine missing it.
I am so happy.
If I am as happy in 41 days as I was this past weekend, I will be the happiest bride ever.