I was failing pretty epically in the whole mother-of-the-bride business. I had confused periwinkle blue with navy blue. I am not well-versed on the ten thousand different variations of veils. I required multiple Youtube tutorials to learn how to tie a wired ribbon around the bridal bouquets. This was my last chance. So I stepped up to the plate.
The count was 0-2. The crowd was packing up. I could tell that Syd was getting ready to call it. When suddenly, the Coach made a last-minute line-up change. And out jogged our pinch hitter.
Out-of-the-blue (navy blue), my mother-in-love called. Naturally, conversation turned to Sydney's wedding. Our family was disappointed that Linda and Chuck would be unable to attend but understood, all too well, the concerns and limitations that are associated with having a geriatric dog. Plus the plane ride would have tortured Chuck's poor back. "I stumbled onto something that I would have liked to have given Sydney, but now it's too late," Linda lamented. My ears perked up immediately. My mother-of-the-bride bell sounded."What is it?" I asked. Linda had been going through some boxes and had unearthed her own wedding garter.
She swings. She scores!
"It's not too late," I assured her, "Jeff doesn't fly out until tomorrow."
In no time, the garter was transferred from grandmother to granddaughter.
Sydney was delighted. We all marveled that the elastic had held up remarkably. Linda might have been able to sling-shot that baby from Iowa to California!
One problem.
Slender still, it shouldn't have surprised us that Linda would have been stick-sized when she got married.
Sydney has the figure of a model. Just not Twiggy.
Options were laughingly discussed. Anklet? Bracelet?
We wondered if the garter could be incorporated into Sydney's bridal bouquet but it was the wrong blue. Naturally, this kicked up another blue debate. Those who believed that baby blue and powder blue were synonymous were soundly defeated. Oh my gosh! How many blues are there!?!?!? A Google search reveals that there are sixteen common shades of blue but twenty-three true shades of blue. Stay out of a paint store...there you will find 144 shades of blue.
This game was about to be called...
I fingered the stiff lace that surrounded Linda's garter, following the pale blue slim satin ribbon that wove its way around the accessory. The path ended at a small heart paved with pearls.
Did I dare?
I carefully untied the fragile ribbon to unleash the little jewel.
Grabbing Sydney's bouquet, I attached it to the front...nestling it among the top petals. The star on the Christmas tree. The North Star. Linda's love...carried down the aisle with her granddaughter. God found a way to include yet another valued family member. It was perfect. And precious. (Grand) Mother-of-Pearl. And, of course, another reason to ponder.
Again, I followed the pale blue satin ribbon that wove its way through-out this wedding...winding itself through the handle of a rusted out bucket and around a display of old license plates...past a small, beat-up but never broken cake topper...to a tiny pearl heart perched on the bouquet that my daughter gripped tightly as she made her way down the aisle on her father's arm to, at last, tie the knot.
Those little pearls led me to think of another gem.
A diamond.
In this case...a baseball diamond.
And how, in our family...we tend to rotate positions. I mean, we all pitch in. And we're always there to catch one another when one of us falls. Good luck, stealing second because we will protect that base with every fiber of our being. We know to cover first because, sometimes, one of us is bound to miss once in awhile. And third base has to have a strong arm to rescue us in the nick of time. But we can't do it on our own. Sometimes, things run afoul. You receive a bad call. There are weather-related delays and cancellations. You misread a signal. Over-run a base. But, fortunately for us, God manages this team. He is in charge of the roster. Plays to our strengths. Benches us when we need healing or humbling. And, eventually, He calls us all home. We have some team members there already..waiting to get back in the game. But, until then, God found small, special, significant ways for all of our family members to congregate at Sydney Lynn's wedding. Out of the blue, He hit it out of the park.
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