When I last left you hanging in gasp of suspense, Jan was on the road to recovery from cancer. Her father's funeral was a week ahead and Lane's wedding was a mere five days away.
It felt good to be home, as good as it get's. My home is the home of my aunt Irene who is also my dietary sponsor. We hugged in the driveway and went inside to lay off my things and take refreshment until the rest of our crew came in from GP, 13 hours N/E of us.
Two hours passed and then we all heard the roar of Aaron's RAM 3500. The whole town did. George and Tara were literally in tow, with their boys and pooch plus fifth wheel. Hoaky Croaky. Good times were on their way.
Head gasket blown on their Ram, George and Tara were grateful to arrive when they did, despite being 2am and waking up the hood. Hmm, more tragedy? Yeah, kinda...
We all have vehicles for work and play and we take good care of them. At least the guys are in the business and Lane had a few names lined up to take the edge off after a short night's rest. No worries. We'll take care of everyone.
Breakfast consisted of Irene, Tara, Tiffany and me summarizing the food lists for the wedding over coffee. The four of us were off to Costco by 11 am leaving the baby with the guys. Eight hours later we were back with the first "dry" run. I had chalked up a Chicken sandwich from BK and a wicked awesome Costco Ice Cream! Damn. What did I do?
I ended the night with a burger that Lane made on the bbq. As I passed by to snag a chair on the lawn by the fire, George offered me a beer, cracked it open and I kept walking... RIGHT into a hole. I fell, landed backward while my burger managed to bounce off the grass and back onto my plate. I didn't spill a drip of beer! It foamed to the top of the neck and I soothed it back down. There I sat in the dewy grass with my knee twisted under me facing away from the fire and my family. IT LOOKED POSITIVELY ASININE! However, I was not able to adjust at the time and when I did, I made a bee line for the house to nurse my wounds. MORE TRAUMA??? Yes, I just didn't know it yet.
The next day was a Wednesday and we were getting ready to meet our soon - to - be relatives that were flying in from Tokyo that afternoon. I loaned my car to Tara and George since their truck was in the shop for a week. Irene and I met the crew at Red Robin for lunch before going our separate ways. YAY, more food. Hmmm. Clucks and Greens anyone?
That night after our meet and greet at the airport, Irene hosted supper at her house for everyone in our family. There was The Bride, Noriko and her family (dad, mom and sister), three brides maids, The Groom, his mom, Cousins: George, Tara, Kelly, Eli, Aaron, Tiffany, Aaliyah, Izzy the Pitbull and Annie the Border Collie. Oh and me. 19 in all. How do you feed 17 people and two dogs in a hurry? KFC. It worked and all of our new Japanese family kept repeating "KENTUCKY" because that's what they call it in Japan. It was an awesome time of laughter, translating, and comparing cultures. TRAUMA? Hell no. This was the beginning of the TRIUMPH. If I was in a tunnel, this reaquaintance with my family was the burning glow guiding me out.
As the next two days wore on, Jan arrived on Thursday and as we were coming down to the wedding wire, I began to stress out. I knew there was a problem because people were saying, "relax Messa", or "what are you getting excited about" and I was feeling the pressure to comply. That was my choice, comply I did with the pressure, by going to the doctor and asking him for a band aide to soothe me through the next four days leading up to and including Lane's wedding and Jan's dad's funeral two days later. At the walk in clinic I was put through a thorough ringer regarding my case history, reason for travel, events leading up to my potential derailment (hahaha) and after the resident interviewed me he left and brought back the doctor. Dr. Warren confirmed some info and commented on the stresses of wedding preparations and lengthy travel. I agreed and with that he prescribed Ativan. I asked, "is this enough to get me through the funeral?" "FUNERAL" he exclaimed, "I thought you were going to a wedding!!!" ... Yeah, about that... Stranger than fiction.
Script in hand, 12 hours to departure for the reception facility, the tension was mellow and the spirits high. I didn't sleep much knowing that Irene and I had a huge bulk of work to do Saturday, morning of. I was up at the crack and she had not slept at all. Apparently her insomnia lead to a "new" plan that I was briefed about and we were off to the hall by 6:30 am. Back by 11, our "crew" was all decked out in their slickest attire. We have a very handsome and beautiful family. I am proud if nothing else. The mood was a bit stilted as there was some miscommunication betwixt us due to Irene's last minute plans. No probs... Get over it. We did.
I was totally fagged out and even contemplated not going. Yes. But I wouldn't miss Lane's wedding for the world even though he missed mine. I'll make sure to give him a second chance. (wink wink) I dragged myself to get ready. It was fatigue and lack of food. We made it though, and picked up Shirley in tow.
It was a day! I cried so much, you could have called me Ol Faithful! All the men were dashing and the ladies were adorable. It was a time of uniting two souls to walk a new path of life together and also a time of reuniting friends and family. The food was wonderful, the drink was flowing. We struggled with the music a bit, but love conquers all.
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| L-R: Top notch friend Linda, Mother of Groom, Irene and my back |
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| Jan and baby Aaliyah |
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| George in Bridal Party and Rosie Tara |
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| Papa San in Kitchen |
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| Irene and Shirley "chafing" each other! |
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| The Party |
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| Mr & Mrs & Jan |
Love, love, love. All you need is love. And vodka.
Really, what I should do is turn my summer events into a series, apparently it is already lending that way. So, I will continue to write about the summer and 10k more kilometres logged on the wheels of my trusty Nissan.
Keep hanging in there as I continue to write about eating through the three T's. Trauma, Tragedy and Triumph!
Thank you my precious and patient peepers!
Hugs from your shrinking Mess!
Read Yesterday's Blog HERE! Eating Through the 4 T's!
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