Snap By Snap

We just returned from a trip to Las Vegas, baby. Not really our kind of town, but we did really enjoy spending some quality time with family and spending a little time with the newest member of the family, Eric's beautiful wife Sara.

Eric, for those of you playing the homegame, is the first wonderfulness (Carolyn uses this term of affection for each of her grandchildren - in order of arrival they are the first, second, and third wonderfulnesses).  Eric has always had a great smile. But his grin widened by at least an inch when he met Sara about two years ago. We knew she was the one.

This has been the year of weddings! I wish I had photos of them all. First, we flew to California to see my nephew Cody wed Cassie, then our friend Kelly married her hubby Dan here in Indy. In October, Mark's old friend Greg (yes, our age - old people get married, too) was married, and then Eric and Sara wed in Las Vegas earlier this month. Each of these eight people had that silly grin. Happiness just spilling out all over. I remember that feeling. My face hurt from smiling by the end of our day:

In March, Cody and Cassie had a table at their reception with the wedding pictures of each of their parents and grandparents, which I thought was a really nice touch. There I saw a picture of my Mom and Dad's wedding that I had never seen before. So I took a picture of the picture (sorry for all the reflections on the glass. If you look closely, you can see my brother Gary's suit in the glass).

My Dad once told me that he married my Mom sooner than he would have, just to help her out of a difficult living situation with her family. But they both sure look very happy. I love the hat! And I love the cross in the background. Most of my memories of my Mom were from a time when she was sick and battling cancer. I love seeing this young, hopeful, beautiful woman looking straight at the camera!

Mark's parents were married in 1956. I asked Mark what the date of their wedding was, and he wasn't sure. So, in a fit of google addiction I typed in "Howard and Carolyn Dobbs wedding" (not expecting any results) - and do you know what??? Their wedding pictures are on youtube! You could have picked me up off the floor. Evidently a cousin digitized his parent's photos or slides and there was a batch from Howard and Carolyn's wedding. Wow. We live in an amazing age.

Be sure to compare the look on Howard's face with the look on Mark's face walking up the aisle with me. It's not a beaming grin. It's more of a completely pleased expression. Cute! Here's a still photo I had of Howard and Carolyn's wedding, and below that is the youtube of wedding pictures from their wedding . . . 54 years ago.



I love seeing those smiling faces. We were all probably naive, and certainly had no idea of what life would throw at us in the years ahead. And, if you had come up to any one of us and told us every bit of bad news we'd get in the next years, we'd still have grinned and gone forward. Because in that moment we all knew what Eric told us just after his wedding. He held up the new ring on his left hand, and said, "This is the best feeling in the world."

What is it about a moment like that? A moment that just instantly changes your perspective. The busy-ness fades and you slow down. Is it the bigness of the horizon? The constant and comforting routine of sunset and sunrise? Or the knowledge that all of our distractions really mean nothing in this larger picture. Somehow it's harder to gain perspective in the city. Why is that?

Take a drive. When we lived in Santa Barbara we could drive into the hills or along the coast. Here we have country fields and farms. In Los Angeles it was a little harder to get away, but it could be done. Get to the quiet. Find a vista that will give you perspective, and listen.