The Final Note

I made it.  Son married.  whew.

I cooked the food, I made the bouquet, the boutonniere, I made the centerpieces (per bride's specifications), I altered my son's suit pants and my daughter's dress, and I did not kill their father.

While he was around I spent quite a bit of the time shutting down his penchant to try and place the blame on someone else for mistakes he made, I deflected his rudeness, and shrugged off his 'apologies'.  By the time he left, he got the message loud and clear that I have detached myself from him and his life no longer matters to me.  I am not taking his crap any more and it is not going to affect me.  He handed me the checks for the kids' bdays (September is bday month) and handed me one for mine.  I tried to hand it back to him and he said, "take it.  It is the last one."  I told him there is no need for it NOW either.  He insisted I take it so I kept it.  I have not made up my mind whether or not I AM going to cash it.  I just really don't want anything more from him.  I know he can afford it but that isn't the point.  I guess I will wait until my bday gets here and then access what I feel like doing.

The wedding...it rained.  Hard, most of the day.  Disappointing because the wedding had to be set up under the canopy on the patio adjacent to the reception hall/winery.  It still had a pretty view of the hill with the grape vines on top.  It quit raining after the ceremony just long enough to put the bride/groom, parents and photographer in golf carts and took to the top of the hill to take pictures among the flowers and in the gazebo.

I look tired in the pictures...I was.  3 days of prep and little sleep.  I got very little help from the dad.  He was very generous, however, with the money for the bride and groom as far as a present.  He gave them more money than I expected.  It was the bright spot in the whole thing.  I never wanted to be the fat mom in the pictures but, again, I concentrated on everything this summer but me.  I will not be this big when Bethany gets married. But everyone else was beautiful!