Sunday, March 18, 2012

Adventures in being me

When the luck of the Irish meets Murphy's law, you get something like me.

I had a pretty nice morning today, and was looking forward to attending the wedding of a sweet family friend.  When it was time to go I was ready.  Had my pretty vintage dress on, had my hair wrangled into a nice 'do, makeup on, card written out, gift in a spiffy bag with pretty tissue paper, new stockings, super cute shoes and vintage bag with my camera tucked inside, and I was on schedule to get there in time to get to a seat without awkward timing issues or anything.  And then...  my keys were MIA.

Gone!  I looked everywhere.  Then I looked everywhere again.  Then I pulled up the couch cushions and looked under the furniture and my hair all fell down and i started to sweat and I was getting my probably 50 year old dress dusty, and by then I was already late for the wedding and my keys were still nowhere in sight.  So I said screw it.  I tossed my cute shoes in my raggedy old everyday bag, put some slightly more comfy ones on, grabbed my spare house key, both bags, and the big shiny silver gift bag and marched outside and up the street to Chippewa to the bus stop.  I was determined to get there.  I dug enough change out to pay for a ticket with a transfer for the Grand bus, but so far the bus was nowhere in sight.  So I walked up to the next stop, and then the next, before finally the bus came.  Did I mention it was threatening to rain at this point?  But the bus came before the rain started, and I got on and rode toward Grand, thinking I might get there before the end of the wedding.  Then the bus driver stopped.  I guess he was ahead of schedule, so we sat for 10 minutes or so between Gravois and Grand.  Just enough time that by the time we got to Grand, the Grand bus had passed by already.  So I waited.  For a good long time.  And the rain started (thank you God for a shelter at that bus stop!).  A lady sitting on the bench commented on my gift bag, and I told her I was late for a wedding, and feeling like a bit of a mess today.  And she said yeah, we're all a bit of a mess aren't we? And then she very kindly pointed out my stockings.  Which, by the way, were the most expensive part of my outfit today.  And were snagged all the way up the back.  Already.  And just as we saw the bus coming up the block, my phone rang. My Mom calling.  Where are you??  The wedding's over.

Sigh.

So she and my Dad drove down and picked me up from the bus stop.  They have a spare of my car key at their house, and the reception wasn't until 6:30, so we headed their way.  The rain was really coming down by then, and we decided to get a bite to eat at Psghetti's in Glendale, which involved getting kinda wet getting in there, with one broken umbrella from my parents' backseat for all 3 of us.  And it poured and lightening crashed and the whole bit, but I was hungry after my ordeal, and the food there is So Good, and we had a laugh as I told my folks about my day up to that point.  And also we watched a very wet but clearly happy dog lope up and then back down the side of Manchester Road, pursued first by his (presumably) owner, and then by a slow-rolling police car with it's lights on, which seemed to be trying to make sure the dog didn't run into the street.  During a lull in the rain we made a slow dash for the car and went back to their house where I retrieved my spare key and collapsed on their couch and watched last week's episode of Project Runway.  Mom and I ran to Walgreen's, again in the rain, to buy new stockings, something to re-wrangle my hair with, and two new umbrellas, and by the time we got back to their house, the rain had mostly stopped and I was able to go outside and marvel at their gorgeous cherry trees, which if it rains any more tonight, will probably be bare by morning, but were still gorgeous at the time, especially against the stormy skies and new green sprouting everywhere!  So allow me to share with you some of my favorite shots:








After that I made a halfhearted attempt to re-wrangle the hair (involving about 30 seconds and a clip, and it showed), but still, I had the pretty dress, so:


We went to the reception, and the bride was as beautiful as I knew she would be, the people were as warm and funny and genuine as they always are, and the food was even more Yum than lunch had been.  I brought my camera, but here's all I got in the dim light of the reception hall:

The favors were little green St Patrick's Day chocolate coins.
The back said "Let the Shenanigans Begin".  Perfect!

And here's another self-portrait to show off the dress/shoes/bag one more time before I call it a night:



Here's hoping you all avoided Murphy and enjoyed the luck o' the Irish today!

2 comments:

  1. I love you so much. If I had had this day, I would not be able to find anything positive in it, and would just walk by the cherry blossoms without seeing them. And then hide for the rest of the night. You are a blessing.

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  2. Oh you totally just made me cry; I love you too!

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