This past Saturday, my sweet cousin Q married her true love, and we all gathered on Cape Cod to celebrate. It was a gorgeous splash of purple and white against the blue-and-green of the last day of summer, a day full of music and dancing and lovely, heartfelt, tear-inducing prose. It may well be impossible to express how thrilled we all are for the newlyweds.
Q is one of my favourite people in the world. She is kind, brave, creative, intelligent, talented, beautiful, thoughtful, and full of love. (And she comes by it all honestly.) I know her husband-to-be only a little so far, but all evidence shows that he is all of those things as well.
Q & N, we love you beaucoup. We know you will each be the other’s best friend and teammate, happily ever after.
My hopes for you…
That when you come home from paradise, even though it can be hard to go back to normal life after all the celebration and anticipation is over, you will snuggle on the couch (even amidst your boxes) and know that your life is just as beautiful as it was before, only made a little richer by the layers of wedding-love that have settled over you.
That you will look at each other across the kitchen table in eight years, with some beloved-but-exhausting little people finally in bed and kidstains on both your shirts, and know that you love each other more than ever, having seen the grit that comes with parenthood.
That you will dance like crazy folks at your children’s – and perhaps even grandchildren’s – weddings, and swoon in each other’s arms all over again.
In honour of your Hawaiian honeymoon, and a life together filled with laughter and homemade tiki drinks, here are a couple of cute videos. (You’ve probably already seen them, but still.)
P.S.: Thank you, ALL OF YOU who helped Sean and me with our kids. Travelling with little ones, while totally worth it so far, is demanding work. We simply couldn’t have been there without you.
P.P.S.: Dear brand-new cousin-in-law with the mad cooking skillz, would you be willing to share that amazing kale salad recipe?
P.P.P.S.: Dear also-newlyweds C & R, it was so wonderful to see you and hang out, however briefly, now that you’ve had some calm marriage time since your own wedding. You are two fantastic and fascinating people, and even more so as a team. I have all the same wishes for you – with an additional one about singing and strumming your way through life. Love you.
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Oh Di. You have a way with words, wishes, and timing. We have just arrived on the beautiful beach for our honeymoon, exhaling for one of the first times, trying to wrap our hearts around all the love and excitement from the weekend. It was magical but went by so fast!!! We love you and thank you for this and for being there. Recipes are coming!!!
I love to think of you on your tiki beach! I hope it’s absolutely perfect, just as your wedding was. Love love love.
Tiki mugs! What I’ve been missing! Gosh, Q and N, you just keep opening our eyes to possibilities. (And I hope those of you privileged to be familiar with it recognized the portraits of the Big Kahuna from Sherman’s Lagoon…) Seriously, though, I wish Q and N, and C and R, and D and S, many more years together, having fun, working out the rough spots, loving, and living, with all that that combination entails.