Extended Family

Herb and I have had an intense week, and we have been delinquent in posting to the site, but in fact, I have missed this odd form of communication. Today, we have new stories to post though...

Story 1:
As most of you know if you have been reading these posts, Herb and I took delivery of our wedding rings at the dentist's office on a blizzard-ing day when other patients had canceled for fear of driving. We were on our way to Boston....Yes, we ARE crazy in case you had any doubt. The dentist, his wife, the hygienist and tech were SO excited for us at the prospect of our rings, and so excited about the rings themselves, and so generous with their laughter and cheer, that H and I decided on the spot to invite our dentist and his wife (Blane and Cindi), the hygienist, her husband and child (Christie and Chad and Kyla) and the dental tech (Rachel and presumably her husband). They have cared for us, pushed other patients around so that we could have appointments on the same day before a Boston commute, and made us feel as though we know their families. So why not? They have become friends.


Story 2:
I called our good friends Linda and Ursula a few days ago from my cell phone, and there is no better storyteller than Linda. As we were chatting, she said that she and Urs had been thinking about doing a surprise shower for me but decided against it for fear of not having the people I would want there.  Of course, as with most of Linda's stories (and mine) there were twin threads entwined, and she also told me that she had been setting up Ursula's new computer, and looked forward to my expertise with some of the settings (Hah!). She had been talking with our techie at the local internet service provider...known to all people in Vermont as "PAM!"  As you can well imagine, many of us are in need of someone to solve the vagaries of the systems we use, and all of us in Vermont know "PAM!" She seems to answer about 85% of the calls for help for me and most of my friends. And when she doesn't, I leave a message and she calls me back.We have talked OFTEN and laughed and shaken our heads over some peculiar quirk, but that's right, I have never met "PAM!"


""PAM!" is SOOOOOOOO excited about your wedding" Linda said, that I wanted to invite her to the shower, Linda said.H and I looked at each other - she has bailed him out as well-- and said:  "PAM!"  She will be coming to the wedding.

Story 3:  (Do you know how this is going to end?)
I went to get my hair cut recently, and the young Japanese woman who has been doing it recently makes me laugh so hard that I think my hair cut is a reflection of that vibration. .... and yes, Yukimi will probably be coming to the wedding....

My friend Deborah said laughing  last night that she doesn't feel so special anymore, but I feel very special. H and I are surrounded by laughter and love these days, and this wedding has surprised me in the way those around us have been positively giddy about this celebration...

May laughter fill all our lives in these (as Mom would say) "toxic" times.. We love you all. This is not a wedding to cement business relationships or to accommodate estranged relatives. This is a wedding for family - those connected by blood, and those connected by a deep and abiding affection and laughter-- and yes, those connected by (you know how this is going to end!) an internet service provider.