The Wedding
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At the reception, my new niece Jill, my nephews Nick, his brother Paul and a bit of Simon.
DJ, Simon, Gershum and Paul. These are the 4 boys and sometimes Nick making 5 that spent lots, and I do mean lots, of time at our house in their teen years. It was a little tough getting used to having so many kids around at first. And there were times when it was not lost on me that they all had single mothers lolling about their own quiet homes eating bonbons while these loud, stinky boys ate us out of house & home.
But then they grew up and didn't hang out here as much anymore. I missed them and wondered how their lives were going. I mean, they all live locally, all stay in touch with each other but not like before. If they come over, it's usually after I've gone to bed. When they each graduated from high school (Paul will graduate in 2008), I could not have been more proud if I was their own mother. They still join us for our family breakfasts at The Log Cabin Restaurant for birthdays and always when Nick comes home on leave. We call DJ & Gershum cousins too. I love these kids.
When Paul gave his best man's toast at Nick's wedding, he spoke too softly, mumbled a little bit, but he did a great job. He had been so nervous about it and was so serious about his role in their ceremony. When he was done, I inexplicably burst into tears, shocking everyone including myself. I think that was really about how these boys have grown up into young adults.
They are so grown up that while Steve and I drove my parents home today, these 4 boys took a train into New York City for some fun on their own. I lectured them all sternly on driving home late at night, taking turns, keeping each other awake. It's the only thing that ever worries me, getting sleepy while driving. They assured me they'd watch out for each other.
Simon is such a goofball. But he sure cleans up nice though.
And so does Gretchen, it turns out. This is the mother son dance. Unfortunately Nick didn't inherit his mother's rhythm but she pulled him through it. She chose Paul Simon's Loves Me Like a Rock, a song with personal meaning for her, something she's always told her sons. Jill's Dad chose My Girl, another great choice.
At the reception, my new niece Jill, my nephews Nick, his brother Paul and a bit of Simon.
DJ, Simon, Gershum and Paul. These are the 4 boys and sometimes Nick making 5 that spent lots, and I do mean lots, of time at our house in their teen years. It was a little tough getting used to having so many kids around at first. And there were times when it was not lost on me that they all had single mothers lolling about their own quiet homes eating bonbons while these loud, stinky boys ate us out of house & home.But then they grew up and didn't hang out here as much anymore. I missed them and wondered how their lives were going. I mean, they all live locally, all stay in touch with each other but not like before. If they come over, it's usually after I've gone to bed. When they each graduated from high school (Paul will graduate in 2008), I could not have been more proud if I was their own mother. They still join us for our family breakfasts at The Log Cabin Restaurant for birthdays and always when Nick comes home on leave. We call DJ & Gershum cousins too. I love these kids.
When Paul gave his best man's toast at Nick's wedding, he spoke too softly, mumbled a little bit, but he did a great job. He had been so nervous about it and was so serious about his role in their ceremony. When he was done, I inexplicably burst into tears, shocking everyone including myself. I think that was really about how these boys have grown up into young adults.
They are so grown up that while Steve and I drove my parents home today, these 4 boys took a train into New York City for some fun on their own. I lectured them all sternly on driving home late at night, taking turns, keeping each other awake. It's the only thing that ever worries me, getting sleepy while driving. They assured me they'd watch out for each other.
Simon is such a goofball. But he sure cleans up nice though.
And so does Gretchen, it turns out. This is the mother son dance. Unfortunately Nick didn't inherit his mother's rhythm but she pulled him through it. She chose Paul Simon's Loves Me Like a Rock, a song with personal meaning for her, something she's always told her sons. Jill's Dad chose My Girl, another great choice.My mama loves, she loves me
She gets down on her knees and hugs me
She loves me like a rock
She rocks me like the rock of ages
And she loves me
Labels: Life Update
posted by Stefani at 5:03 PM
1 Comments:
Talking about spontaneous crying . . . I had seen Nick in his dress blues just once before and it's quite moving. But this time he had his medals from serving in Iraq and I saw that chestful of medals and burst into tears. And I had really pledged not to cry until much later. It's a good thing I didn't place a bet on myself because I would have lost!
BTW, Paul always takes a failing grade in school if he has to given an oral presentation. He just will not talk in front of a group. So for him to give his speech for his brother at all was a really big deal.
So proud of both my boys!
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