Journal of a Living Lady #175

 

Nancy White Kelly

 

Looks like I am getting ready for another wedding. Charlie and Tori's wedding was a major life event. Now our adopted son, Bobby, is ready to tie the knot. This is none too soon since he and fiancé, Ginger, have a two-year-old daughter. They aren't the first, nor will they be the last, to get it backwards, but at least they are making it right.

 

They won't have the luxury of an expensive formal wedding with all the pageantry. Money for this young couple is tight, practically non-existent. Buddy and I have volunteered our backyard gazebo for the wedding ceremony. With some creative decoration, this octagon-shaped structure should serve the purpose.

 

Becoming a mother-in-law for the second time in less than three months is mind-boggling. I am a great idea person. The only problem is I have too many ideas and not enough husbands. Understandably, Buddy is sometimes reluctant to plow my whims. Long ago I discovered the secret to winning over this lovable mule of mine. To get him to happily work on my behalf, all I have to do is rub his back and put banana pudding in the trough.

 

Nobody but my Buddy would have put up with all my spur of the moment, crazy projects.  Don't even ask him about the worm farm or the white rabbit business that took the word "exponential" to a new level. For better or worse, for worms and for rabbits, he married me. And then there were the birds.

 

A couple of years ago, to pacify my avionic interest in bird proliferation, Buddy began enclosing the sides of our gazebo with chicken wire. My desire was to raise exotic parrots. Protecting hot-natured birds from cold mountain winds is a formidable challenge. The bird aviary project was enthusiastically begun but never completed. Fighting cancer became a higher priority. The gazebo sat abandoned, almost forgotten.

 

Now, this aging structure is to be transformed from an aviary to an arbor. I suppose white netting over the aluminum wire with artificial flowers woven in-between will work. A little paint on the steps, new linoleum, and some serious weed-eating around the pergola and creek should be sufficient. Poor Buddy!

 

Bobby's wedding will, of necessity, be small with family and a few close friends. Our yard will hold lots of folks, but the square footage of our home is limited. I figure if each person occupied nine square feet, we could squeeze in 266 guests assuming nobody moved. I am mathematically challenged, so could somebody please email me how tall the wedding cake should be.

 

It will be a humble beginning. Bobby and Ginger won't be the first nor last to start off married life counting their pocket change. Since their favorite shape is rectangular and their preferred color is green, I think they should just be practical. Skip Neiman Marcus and register at the bank.

 

Fancy weddings aren't necessary for a matrimonial success. When all is said and done, the two will be just as married as any other couple who spent thousands of dollars, obtained a marriage license and said, "I do."

 

Life should turn out fine for the both of them. Our friends of the World War II generation can attest to the fact that two can live as cheaply as one, provided one doesn't eat.

 

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nancyk@alltel.net

For publication August 1, 2002