Two Weddings in One Year, Check!
We are home now from our month back in the US, mostly in California near and at Grandma’s house in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. It was a wonderful time celebrating our oldest son Josiah’s wedding to Julia, a darling addition to our family that we’re all thrilled about. It was as I prepared to share on our blog about it that I realized I never officially did a post about Anna’s wedding to her husband Shiloh, back in January. It has been a year, to say the least. Tradition says you have a year to give the newlyweds a wedding gift, and so I suggest that blogging about the wedding within a year counts too!
Obviously, to the two couples, their events were very much their own and personal to them – but to me, as their mom, they were mixed up into this crazy year + of changes, growth and new seasons – for so much of my family. It was also fun to see how different both weddings were – how much spoke to the personality of each bride and groom. Anna and Shiloh’s was intimate and fairy-tale-esque, in a romantic garden setting. Siah and Julia’s was larger, also in a beautiful outdoor setting (for the actual ceremony at least), but more loud and sparkly. Given the longer notice for planning ahead we all had for Siah and Julia’s nuptials, more family from far away were able to attend, and that was wonderfully special. But the gathering of family for both events warmed my heart. Norbert’s mom was able to come from Hungary for Anna’s, and my parents came from Maine for Josiah’s. Our sweet granddaughter Aubrieanne got to be flower girl for both – she’s getting to be quite the pro. And adding that extra special touch, both kids asked their dad to perform the service for them, he was honored.
I cried at both, of course. Okay, I just about lost it during the 2nd, as Siah said his vows and had a really hard time keeping it together – my sweet, sensitive boy. Having all our kids so close in age, I always knew in the back of my head that they’d all grow up at once, boom – done! But man, living through it has been… a lot. A lot of emotions. A lot of changes. A lot of pride in my kids, a lot of wonder too – as they keep amazing me with their abilities and maturity. A lot of new people – not just our two new family members, but their extended families, and then my dear baby sister has also added to our family with her awesome boyfriend Daniel. A lot of adjustments. A lot of young people soaring on their own and me watching from below – it’s a glorious sight, but sometimes scary too. Yeah, it’s been a lot.
We’ve already told Joshua he has to give us at least 2-3 years to recover before he can get married. Besides my poor heart, it was also a lot of money spent! We’re already all looking forward to our next family gatherings without a wedding happening. And closer to home, I’m looking forward to settling into our new season more fully – especially this Empty Nest thing. Norbi’s mom has remained with us since we came back in February, most recently to help us by dog-sitting for this last trip. But she’s now moved back to her home in Szeged, and we’re looking at making our apartment here in Budapest more fully ours. It feels like our first time to really be able to do that since we bought it, just before moving back to LA for those two years, now almost 3 years ago.
Still moving cautiously ahead, testing ideas and seeing what may be meant for us – still looking at Szeged. But nothing big or ‘a lot’ the rest of this year – 2019 has been more than enough already!
lakatosfamily 