Sometimes parenting is just plain hard. And a lot of times I find it's hard at times when you least expect it to be hard. One PERFECT example: weddings.
I have a cousin, Rebekah, who's children have been a part of approximately 55 weddings. I've been present for quite a few of them. Each time, her family shows up on time, with smiles, and they're all dressed with most hairs in place. They make it seem so effortless that I never even thought twice about what a miracle it was for them to all be there and still appear sane, much less put together. The only time I remember thinking how organized she must be was when she was pregnant with her third (and I was newly pregnant with Henry), and she was able to keep her two older girls pretty quiet for her brother's wedding. She kept handing them dum-dum lollipops, and I remember thinking, "Hmmm..... I wouldn't even think to hand a 2-year-old a lollipop. Cool." Ah. If only I knew then what I know now. I probably would've made a mental note to enjoy that wedding even more, and would've made sure to tell her what an amazing woman she was right then and there while she was in the midst of a miracle (which I didn't even know to appreciate at the time!).
We were so happy to be a part of Paul's brother's wedding this weekend. It was both boys' first wedding, and the entire concept baffled Henry. We kept explaining that Uncle Grant and Aunt Kelly were getting married and that there would be a big party afterwards. He was totally sold on the idea when we told him there would be cake, but he was completely confused that it wasn't someone's birthday. Apparently, it's mind-blowing to a child that there can be more than one excuse to throw a party and have cake. :)
But then came the hard part. Surviving the ordeal without: (1) meltdowns, (2) destruction, or (3) throwup. The task was seeming impossible about 4 hours before the wedding because my oldest would NOT fall asleep in the hotel room, and my youngest would NOT stop crying. Henry finally got a few hours sleep after a lot of wallowing around on his bed. And Grandma finally saved the day when she started offering Walter food and he then proceeded to consume about 500 calories. Whoops. I swear I fed him lunch - thank GOODNESS for grandparents!!!!!!
Task #2. Getting them and us dressed. Walter fought us hard on that front. I mean, he's literally attempting to escape.
He screamed every time we tried to get him dressed, but we finally
wrestled him into his clothes. Why, oh why, did I pick an outfit with so many buttons?!?!?!
Henry found a package of graham crackers and decided to go to town. You know you've reached your official "I-don't-give-a-crap" point when you stop caring about what your kids are eating and are instead, thankful they've stopped pestering you and getting into trouble.
Once we were dressed, it was time to arrive at the chapel for pre-wedding photographs. I cannot believe we survived that two-hour time period.
I think we only survived because we allowed a lot of running. And yes, go ahead a judge. We allowed our children to run up the church...
We even managed to find stairs and let Henry go up into the balcony. This turned out to be a bigger problem than we expected. After Henry (the ringbearer) made it down the aisle during the wedding and stood with Paul, he decided to loudly announce over the preacher (who was in the midst of asking who presented Kelly for marriage to Grant), "MAMA!!! LET'S GO BACK UP THERE!!!!" Please note he was quickly grabbed and taken from the chapel so the wedding could proceed without 2-year-old interruption!
It's a good thing he was so stinking cute. And yes, in case you were wondering, he does have his hand shoved in a box of conversation hearts. But remember, I lost my give-a-crap hours before this photo was taken.
The biggest wedding miracle of all: I actually got a photo with one of my kids!!
And Walter is taking a few steps now, but is still not fully walking. After holding the child for approximately eight hours straight yesterday, Paul and I (especially our backs) are READY for this chunker to walk. In fact, I believe we're desperate for him to walk. We spent a lot of time this afternoon working with him on his walking. I don't think we ever did that with Henry - we figured he would walk when he's ready. We're essentially begging Walter to get on with it!
And have I mentioned Henry's a total ham? I was so worried he wouldn't actually go down the aisle with the pillow, so I had all kinds of talks with him. Make sure to carry the pillow and don't throw it down. Make sure you actually walk to Dadda. Don't be shy. Don't trip. Blah, blah, blah. The key instruction I forgot: Don't talk. This child talks from the second he wakes up to the second he goes to bed, but I figured he would get shy and overwhelmed by all the people looking at him when it was his turn to walk down with the flower girl. It never crossed my mind he'd want to chit-chat with his father from 50 yards away. After I nudged him down the aisle, he spotted Paul, proceeded to jog with the pillow, all while yelling "DADDA! DADDA! DADDA! DADDA!" Paul quieted him for all of 1.5 minutes, until he decided to chit-chat with me from 50 yards away (which is why he got drug from the church). Cutie.
By the time we got the reception, we were exhausted but excited the kids still seemed sane and happy. Henry LOVED all the clapping and the dance floor! Part of me wishes I had more pictures of him dancing, but I was having too much fun watching him to worry about snapping photos.
But most importantly, happy wedding Grant and Kelly!! You both looked so happy, and we were so thrilled to be a part of the start of your lives together. While I'm sure Paul and I could cook up plenty of marriage advice, we'll start with this: wait to have kids until you're ready. They're the best, but boy are they exhausting!!!
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