Every Wedding Has a Story

My brother and sister in law's involved an ominous prewedding septic tank overflow at my parent's house,

which happened when Emery flushed while I was taking a shower.  It resulted in an inch of sewage on the tile floor, a heck of a lot of dirty towels, a very concerned Emery, and my first shower in the two days I'd been there cut very short. 

However, it all was resolved just in time for us to go to shine up for the rehearsal dinner.  The bride's broken bustle on the morning of the wedding was mended, and she managed 6 inch heels and a nervous stomach without so much as a stumble, bless her.  Best of all, the January weather could have fooled me offering a gorgeous, cloudless, sunny day for them to remember their whole lives through.

Despite not having much time to write or practice, I said my piece at the rehearsal dinner (which Cristian refers to as a novel) Emery didn't completely steal/wreck/distract from the show as the flower girl, and the happy, young, newly college diploma'd couple pledged their lifelong commitment to each other in front of 150 friends and family.

I wrangled tired kids, and did bridesmaid duties gladly, but I am so completely relieved that the wedding is over and I don't have any siblings left to marry off!

My rehearsal dinner speech, which I whipped up that morning to the background noise of a septic tank, and didn't even practice once, but I think I got my point across.  I don't expect anyone to read this.  As far as you are concerned, my post was over at the last picture.  It's long.  It took me almost 8 minutes to speak it.  It's purely for documentation purposes. And for my mother, of course.

When I was a young girl on the verge of 9 years old, and Jay wasn't quite two, my mother came to help me with my hair in the bathroom, and revealed that she and my father had a surprise for me. I could tell it was something of big dream caliper by the way she said it, by the enthusiasm in her voice. I reeled with sudden excitement and crossed my fingers as I shrieked with hopeful anticipation : "Is it a puppy?" I asked? "Better than a puppy!", She answered me.  She said it with such certainty, that I knew it could only be one thing: the biggest of all of my big dreams. " A pony!" I shrieked. " No." She said firmly and shook her head. I felt a sharp twang of disappointment. Then my mother slyly smiled. "Better than a pony." she assured me. Better than a pony?  "Does she not know me at all," I wondered?  Of course, a pony trumped everything in my 9 year old world. Everything except for one precious miracle I didn't even guess was possible: a baby.
And so it was.

I spent the next several months planning all the fun I'd have with my new baby sister, the doll dresses she'd wear, the frilly names I might name her, such as Rosey or Lizzy, the anticipation of being able to play house with less pretending now that I'd have a real live baby to use. But alas, my dreams of a baby sister, a lifelong best friend and girly confidant of my dreams, were jilted by the arrival of a spirited, rough and rowdy baby brother. Jordan Lee was his name, and Jay pronounced it "Jo-wee," aka, Joey.
Joey was a boy through and through. He never did wear doll dresses or answer to my girly names of Rosey and Lizzy, but he did occasionally accommodate my demands for playing house and agree to various other instructions I bossed to him over the entirety of his childhood.

He tolerated, or more aptly put: relished in the multi set video productions and makeshift theatrical performances written and directed by yours truly and his older cousin. Joey obliged us with such roles as baby in the jungle, baby vs. the 5 foot shark, baby superhero, acrobat baby, and baby sings the Beatles. I even cast him as the Angel in a 3 man Christmas play hoping the nature of the role might offset the intensity of his terrible twos, which it did, but only for the duration of his role. He was a talented thespian right from the start, it seems. I'd like to take credit for fueling an early fire and teaching him everything he knows for his eventual starring role in his high school production of Oklahoma, but indeed, the talent was all his own.

Joey is also incredibly loyal in character. This UT longhorn used to shave a double T in the back of his head and then color it in with red marker when he would come to visit me during my college days in Lubbock. I still have the picture of the back of his little chili bowl cut head that I keep just in case I ever need it for blackmailing purposes, but Joey's has yet to give me a reason.

Joey is also very protective, and I doubt anyone would argue me when I say he has a lot of gall. He was 12 when my husband, Cristian, and I first began dating. Joey once tagged along on a tour of the Stockyards, and when Cristian went to make his romantic move and hold my hand as we walked, an ever watchful Joey broke in between us and firmly chided Cristian, who had several feet and 100 pounds of muscle mass on him. Joey was not intimidated, insisting that I was his "Sissy," and he was going to hold my hand instead, to which Cristian kindly obliged. I had always sorta longed for the stereotypical protection of an older brother until that moment when I realized that Joey would do.

Let me tell you that Joey is every niece's dream for an uncle. When Eve was born, he came to spend the evening with me when Cristian had work he couldn't miss and I was recovering from childbirth with a less than 3 day old baby and a 1 year old fuss pot. I remember the girls put on their best crying marathon that night, and I was sore and sleep deprived to the point of near insanity. I thought I'd scare him clear away from ever visiting our house again, and possibly make him reconsider fatherhood altogether, but he was relatively unphased and dutiful. He patiently lulled a fussy Emery to bed that evening when I couldn't quite manage it. He continues to babysit when I'm in a crunch and shrugs off the incessant sometimes intolerable din of the Lieneck house. It fills me to the very brim to see how he has won a coveted place in my daughter's hearts as a doting and playful uncle. He's going to be an incredible father.

He's a musician with more talent than he has yet to realize, a good field scientist with an affinity for rocks, of all things, a dear friend to me, and to my delight, to Cristian as well. He's also a big goof, a bit of a space cadet, and a darn good sport for being the brunt of much of our family teasing.

23 years after a memorable surprise announcement from my mother, I found that my big dream for a pony was replaced with a bigger, better dream I didn't know I even had. And now, I wouldn't trade my baby brother for any sister in the world. I'm so grateful Jay and I landed Joey for a brother. If I could have told my 9 year old self about the catch of a woman Joey would bring home to us someday, I'm sure I'd never have longed for that sister in the first place, knowing that down the road, I'd get her anyhow, which brings me to Melissa.

Mel, we are so glad that tomorrow you will officially be a part of our family. You've felt like family for so long, have found your way into all of our hearts, loved us despite ourselves, helped us, changed my children's diapers and cared for them as if they were yours, endured games you can't stand with forgiving agreement, accepted our eccentricities, and tolerated us in ways few ever would. Best of all, you have never waivered in loving my brother with all your heart even despite his many quirks and strange tendency to wear house shoes when you go out on the town. God bless you, dear woman. Joey is a very lucky man, and I am a very lucky sister in law.

With all my heart I wish for the two of you to find the thick warmth and richness that comes with a long, happy marriage. Pay little attention to the marriage jokes all the men in my family throw at you. Though there is some truth in humor, having a life partner that despite your imperfections, still manages to see you perfectly outweighs everything else.

May you, too, discover many years from now, that sometimes the surprise in life together is that big dreams you thought you wanted, can render bigger better dreams you didn't even know you had, and a happier ending than you ever thought possible.

Cheers to my brother, Joey and his beautiful bride, Melissa!