A Quiet Day, a Long Day

The day hasn't turned out the way we planned--for us or for our family, the Johnsons, whose 10-hour trip to our place is logging in (so far) at maybe 16 hours.
First they lost about three hours waiting for jacknifed tractor trailers to be cleared from the PA Turnpike. Then Jennifer called just before 8:00 to say they had slid off the Interstate into a ditch, just this side of Wheeling. Triple-A promised the tow truck to arrive by 9:20, but then she texted at 8:16 to say the happy tow-er had already arrived. So maybe it'll be 15 hours instead of 16.
Meanwhile we wait.
I've been checking websites for weather reports and highway updates all day. Of course, none of this helped them, and it didn't really help me, either.
We've had maybe 6 inches of snow today. At one point late this morning the snow was falling at the rate of an inch an hour. My pictures don't really capture the spectacle. I'm glad it didn't continue for any more hours than it did!

We had planned to spend half a day or so with our friends the Webers, helping them pack for their move tomorrow (which they've put off till Friday; at last report they're planning to load tomorrow and drive Friday). Verna called before noon and said, "Don't come." I think by late afternoon we might have made it OK, but then I heard about accidents on I-71, and I decided maybe we were smart just to stay put. Roads were passable but several still slushy when I ran to the grocery after 4:00.
Our neighbor, Gary Lavon, brought over his snow blower and cleared our driveway and walk, bless him. I went out two other times to shovel an inch or so of new snow each time. I put down ice melter so it will be clear for the Johnsons--whenever they get here.
We've had a quiet day--Evelyn did some baking. We ate leftovers, yummy leftovers, for lunch and dinner. I wrapped some presents. We're spending the evening watching TV--a rare event; Evelyn's doing some ironing and I'm reading through some old newspapers while we watch. . . . And wait.

Friday of Wedding Week

Today was our wedding rehearsal, preceded by a stop at Memorial Hall to take plants and sound system and other goodies for decorations at the reception. It was blazing hot, and all of us were sweating at Memorial Hall, despite the presence of air conditioning, but that was a small negative in light of the perfect way the hall has turned out, under the able direction of Carol Ray with David, Jan Cummins, and Shannon Penrod adding their help, along with Wendy and Evelyn, of course.

The rehearsal was a relaxed and nostalgic and pleasant experience, led so well by Bobby Jackson who will perform the ceremony tomorrow. We shed tears at the magnificent processional played by Geoff  and Emily Plank. I was glad I got to hear Lisa sing, because I probably won't get to tomorrow (she sings before the bride and I enter). And the whole rehearsal was special because we got to be with Byron and Katie Cartwright.

Just as we arrived at CCU for the rehearsal dinner, the sky opened, and we had to hustle inside under umbrellas through the downpour. Later we learned that the storm at our house had caused one side of the pear tree in front of the house to split off. And when Matt got to Dan and Cindi Cooper's house to spend the night, he discovered that they're without power!

But the dinner was what Jennifer wanted, I think, a relaxed, fun time together, with lots of laughter and way more food than we could all eat.

Scott, Amber Lyn, and Amber Jo Aulen 

Ken and Susan Aulen and Lisa Sweeney-Taylor 

Wendy Wagoner, Jana and Greg Perry

Wednesday of Wedding Week

Someone once said that the truly productive person works most days like he does the day before vacation. I don't know if that's possible, but today (my last day to work before  next Tuesday) was very productive for me. I actually was able, through a combination of delegation and concentration, to cross almost everything off my list! Of course, there could have been more on my list, I guess, but I did leave work feeling at peace about what I was leaving behind.

I met the gang at Twin Dragon restaurant for supper. The Johnson kids like Chinese buffets (who would have guessed?), and we hadn't been there in years. It was surprisingly good, and we had fun.

Afterwards, Jen and Matt and I stopped at Meijer's and bought plants for our reception center pieces. Quite a few of those I bought and have been watering for weeks just aren't going to be pretty enough for the wedding. But we found some beautiful substitutes, and Jennifer and I will have fun tomorrow putting them together.

When the three of us arrived back home, plants in hand, Evelyn, Wendy, and the kids were warming up on corn hole tossing (our neighbors lent us a set for the rest of the week), and we had a tournament  that managed to involve all seven of us. Matt and Miles were a team, and none of us were surprised when they won. Ah, maybe the oldsters will prevail tomorrow!

Just One Year

One year ago on a Friday, Wendy Wagoner and Jennifer met Evelyn and me in New York City. They had been in Pennsylvania, because they had agreed that Wendy should meet Matt Johnson and Nina and Miles before she went to Africa. And Wendy had never seen New York, so they combined destinations. We met Lisa at her beautiful office overlooking Manhattan, ate lunch at a sidewalk cafe outside the Rockefeller Center, and saw the city from Top of the Rock.

That evening we drove to Long Island and heard all of Geoff's jazz bands play at their spring fundraiser and concert at the high school where he teaches. It was a beautiful evening, a wonderful concert, and a fun time.

Saturday we tried to show Wendy some of the city, although the rain kept us from some of what we wanted to do. She could still see the Statue of Liberty through the fog.We walked through Chinatown, stopped in at a small museum, and ate dinner at one of Geoff and Lisa's favorite restaurants before adjourning to their apartment to visit for the rest of the evening.

The next morning, Geoff took Wendy to the airport so she could fly to Florida to do a VBS. That afternoon we walked the Highline, went to Geoff and Lisa's church, passing the theater where the Tony awards were being presented that evening, and then ate dinner outside at a restaurant in the park beside the Hudson River.

Lisa quizzed Jennifer about Matt: How do you feel about his kids? How do you feel about his church? Is he a good kisser? :-) We passed by the Lincoln Center where we yucked it up for picture poses in front of the fountain there.

One week from today, on a Friday (actually just five days from now), Wendy will come to Cincinnati to be here for Jennifer's wedding to Matt Johnson.

Three weeks from today, on a Saturday, Jennifer will marry Matt; Miles and Nina will be their wedding party. Geoff will play, Lisa will sing, and Evelyn and I will smile and cry. Then "party" is the theme for the reception we're planning at Memorial Hall after their afternoon wedding. 

The time will fly between now and then, just as it has since we were in New York together just one year ago. And I'm filled with anticipation about what the next year will bring in all of our lives.

Moving Day

Matt and Jen arrived at our place late this afternoon with a truck full of most of Jen's earthly goods.  They had unloaded a table and chairs at Jocelyn and Donovan Weber's place, and then Jen and Evelyn headed for the seamstress for a fitting of the wedding dress. "Just rest," Evelyn told Matt. But he and I decided to try to get the stuff Jen was leaving here into the house before they got back.

We did it! A bed frame with box springs and mattress, a futon, an antique dresser, two hassocks, and two big bookshelves. Evelyn fixed a wonderful supper of roast beef, carrots, twice-baked potatoes, and tossed salad. After supper Jen showed us a few more boxes full of props for the reception to bring in. One bedroom of the house is just about full of stuff for the reception--but not for long!

I told the people in the office that I was going to stay and eat breakfast with Matt and Jen tomorrow and might be late to work. But they want to be at the courthouse by 8:00 to get the marriage license. I may get to work sooner than usual!

Let Us Anticipate

"I'm guessing we'll be reading more and more about the wedding as the day gets closer." Fred Gossman said that at church Sunday (Fred reads my blog. I'm always surprised when somebody tells me they're reading my blog! Hi, Fred. . . . )

This week, especially there is wedding-related news, because Matt and Jen are moving all her earthly goods to his house in Levittown, PA this week. He's flying to Nashville tomorrow, and they're loading the truck. Then Wednesday they'll drive to Cincinnati, unload one piece of furniture she's giving to Donovan and Jocelyn Weber, and then end up at our place. Jennifer is having her final fitting for the wedding dress, and sometime before bed, we'll off load a few pieces of furniture she's leaving here--time will tell if for awhile or for good. We'll eat dinner and relax with them in the evening, and then they'll head for PA Thursday morning. I think their plan is to unload the truck there Friday.
We got word this morning that our block of rooms at the Hampton Inn in Covington was sold out, so I called Carol who added five more rooms for Friday and Saturday.

Katie Cartwright texted me today: "We've got our room, so we're ready to party!" But I didn't have her number in my phone and didn't know who on earth was asking me to party. I texted back, "I think you have a wrong number."
"It's KT," she wrote back and added a smiley face. "Put my number in your phone!"

I have done so, and I am joining her in anticipation for our big day, just 26 days away!

This is my lettuce patch, growing in an over-the-bannister planter on the deck. 

I wonder if we'll still be eating lettuce from here by the time of the wedding.

Actually, I'm doubting it!

"Older" Isn't the Worst Thing

Today is Jennifer's birthday, and we called her while we were riding to meet Verna and Bill Weber for dinner before attending the Cincinnati Pops concert tonight at Music Hall. (It was a treat to see and hear Bernadette Peters. I'll plan to say more tomorrow.)
"How does it feel to have a daughter who's 36?" she asked. (We were conversing via the speaker phone feature on Evelyn's cell.)
"How do you think it feels to BE as old as WE are?" I responded. But I didn't speak our ages out loud.
With Bill and Verna at dinner, we were laughing about my tendency to puddle up. "I'm just so nostalgic," I said.
"It gets worse as we get older," Evelyn said.
I was talking about Jennifer's wedding with a friend at work. "She knew better than to ask me to perform it," I said. "I just hope the two of us can get down the aisle with dry eyes!"
If I shed a tear at the wedding (I can hear a couple of good friends: "If? IF?"), it won't be because I'm unhappy, or because I think she is.
"She sounds very happy," I said to Evelyn after the conversation was finished. What more could a parent want? She celebrated her birthday with her groom-to-be and his kids: Chinese buffet and then back home for the birthday cake he baked. She promised a picture. But for now, I'll post one of their family engagement pictures. (I think I've exercised remarkable restraint for not posting one of these before now.)
Yep, we're all getting older. And that's not a bad thing.