John

I was NOT looking forward to going to this wedding. My "friend" Stacy was getting married yesterday, and we used to be really close ... when I was 4 years old. They lived about 6 houses down from me when we were in Kindergarten, and her mom and mine were pretty close. About halfway through Kindergarten, they moved to Pennsylvania and since then I've seen her a grand total of about 5 times. When I got a wedding invitation I was really surprised, since I barely talk to her but once every 2 years..

Mom and I drove to Bellaire yesterday and met at the church. We didn't know anyone else at the ceremony except the bride, her mom and dad, and one set of grandparents.

I cried more at this wedding than I did when my best friend got married 3 years ago. Stacey's dad John is the kind of guy who has deer heads hanging on his wall. As a matter of fact, that is the only thing I remember about their house in Lima. Deer heads. Deer heads and deer jerky. Yesterday he wore a John Deere cap to the reception.

As he was walking her down the aisle, he was struggling to hold himself together. His lip was trembling, and when he got to the altar and turned to hug her, he started sobbing. He just laid his head on her shoulder and cried for almost a minute. I don't think there was a dry eye in the church ... it was so touching. I mean, this guy goes bow hunting every opportunity he gets ... he works in a job dealing with heavy machinery, and and has permanent grease under his fingernails. I have a feeling he wouldn't be caught dead crying in public.

Mom shared some of her wisdom about the subject of marriage with me last night. I'm a self-proclaimed daddy's girl, but it's been nice sharing the weekend with my mom. We never get to talk, because whenever I'm in Lima I'm busy catching up with friends who still live there, and I hardly ever stay home and relax. Since we didn't know anyone else at the wedding, we just talked for a few hours.

Continental breakfast time!