Waiting (impatiently) on the home front, narrowly missing You Tube fame

Since I don't plan on venturing too far from this computer anytime soon (except to get WTs to bed), I figured I'd burn off some nervous energy (which is in abundant supply) by talking about  our wedding weekend.

The girls were slated to be flower girls in their cousin's wedding which took place last night.  As a quick aside, it is interesting to note that the last time our family was in China, C was a flower girl in our friends' wedding.   So if someone would like to ask her to be a flower girl in about six months, we would be happy as that would signal another trip to China!

Now, this wedding was a source of no small anxiety for me.  As you may have noticed, I did use the plural for girl.  That means the veteran, C, and the wildcard, K.  Let me add that the wedding was outdoors on property that had a phenomenal view and...dirt, lots of dirt.  And the girls would be wearing white dresses.  Can you envision why this might promote a sense of dread?

The rehearsal went really well, so I was hopeful that K might do okay.  She did give me a good reminder, however, when she broke loose during the final run-through, running down the small hill to the site of the ceremony where I was waiting for her, shouting at the top of her lungs, "I have to go shi-shi!!!!!" (which is the equivalent of going "number 1").  Mental post-it note reminder: make sure she goes to the bathroom before the wedding.

For whatever reason, she had a really bad night/early morning, waking up on and off from 2am until she finally got up at 6am.  Which of course meant that mom had a bad night/early morning.  Add to this that I was sharing a bed with C who kept kicking me during the night.  When I asked about that the next day, she said she had a dream she was sharing a bed with one of her aunts (Jewell or Joy or another one of her 5 "J" aunts) and she was kicking her leg for fun.  Uh huh, real fun.

Flash forward to about 10 minutes before the wedding is due to start.  I tell K that I will meet her down the hill just like we practiced.  As I turned to go with M in tow (who, by the way, offered to be the "handsome boy" in the wedding), K let out a huge wail and yelled "I want to stay with MOMMMMMYYYYYY!"  Trying not to melt into the dirt and create a mud puddle, I tried to calm her down and reason with her.  Nothing seemed to work.  The mother of the bride, my sister-in-law, tried to reassure me that if it didn't work out, it would be totally fine.  I also know that the bride will be totally understanding because she is the opposite of a bridezilla, which I have no word for right now, but she's really really sweet and understanding.

I really want K to do this, for my niece, but also for K.  I want her to overcome this and buck up like a trooper.  I decide to pray with her, thinking that might work.  She calms down and I ask her if she's ready to stay with her sister.  She responds with, "Nooooo, I want to stay with MOMMMMMMY!" At this point I am pleading in my mind to God, ready to make all kinds of promises He will laugh at because He knows me. 

An idea enters into my head (thank you God) to wait at the bottom of the hill to the side with K.  When the wedding party walks by, she can then join her sister for the short walk down the aisle.  I talk her through this and she seems like she might be okay with the idea.  I know it's a long shot, but it's worth a try.  As we are sitting waiting for the nine bridesmaids to file past, (I had a long time to think)  I suddenly had visions of K going down the aisle and doing something that will end up on You Tube.  I could just see the video going viral, titled "Meltdown after the maids" or "Flower girl faceplant," or "Agony in the aisle," or something like that.

The time came for C to file past.  I stood K up and asked if she wanted to go with her sister.  She nodded yes, joined her sister, and walked down the aisle like a champ.  Thank you Jesus!

The bride was beautiful, and the wedding was wonderful (kudos to my nephew for officiating like a pro!).  For my part, I have a special reminder of that day.  Remember when I was sitting to the side of where the bridal party was walking past? The day before, the bride warned me not to let the kids walk through that area.  You see, it had poison oak there.

Itchy and scratching and waiting to see my boy!!!