It's Hard Being A Good Friend When You Weren't Around Long Enough To Learn...

I know a lot of women who have an amazing amount of friends for their support group. I'm not one of them. It's hard for me to make friends since I never had many growing up. We always moved before I could solidify any relationships with other girls my age. Therefore, I really never had any practice at being a good friend.


Being a good friend is an art I've never mastered, although I do have a few die hard friends scattered here and there. I'm not sure why, since I've never actually worked at cultivating these friendships. Still, I love them dearly and would do almost anything for them. Then it dawned on me that perhaps I'm just not that likable a person, but then decided I'm more likable than most, so that can't be it. I'm just not well versed in remembering birthdays, planning for special occasions, etc. I tend to just go about life living in my own private little world, with little regard for others (since I can't remember anything these days). 


I dream about what it would be like to actually have friends that I talk with every day, but am uncertain as to whether or not that's what I really want. I think it mostly has to do with missing my best friend Susan (Suze/*sooz*), gone five years now. Most of the time I don't think about it but every now and then I get melancholy, missing my oldest friend. I miss going MIA with her on our *afternoon adventures in early cocktails*, lunches-turned-adventures, trips to shop in Dallas while staying at The Adolphus, trips with our kids to every place they wanted to go, etc. Those were truly the days when we had the most fun.


I suppose it's quite different for those who grew up in *normal* families. You never even knew kids like me existed, much less understood what we were going through every time we had to attend a new school (which was basically every 3-6 months for me).


Still, I persevere to learn. It's not easy knowing how to be a good friend without knowing the *ground rules*. I suppose you could say I'm still a work in progress and probably always will be until I die....

It's The Big Wedding Weekend...

Most weekends around here are pretty tame. We don't go out much since we're homebodies and we don't really have a lot of company. So, when a weekend like this comes along, I'm all in. I've been resting up for weeks now. I've also been cleaning like some kind of maniac.

So, the girls got in last night and we ordered pizza and antipasto salads from our favorite Italian restaurant. We sat around the kitchen table talking and laughing and it really was Heaven for me. After that, the girls all went out to hook up with all their old friends who are in town for the wedding.

There are two weddings tonight and we've decided to make it to both celebrations. We'll go to the one friends' daughter's wedding at the church and then attend the other friends' daughter's reception at The Petroleum Club.

I decided to go ahead and wear the Victor Costa suit I got for my best friends' son's wedding last year, rather than go out & buy something else I'll only wear once. My biggest decision today is going to be which pair of shoes I want to ruin in the rain. It rained all night with more expected this evening. It's not fair to have rain when there are weddings to attend.

Snooty daughter invited about 15 people over for a little wedding pre-party, so I'm thinking all the cleaning was a good decision. I've got a few appetizers ready to tide everyone over until the wedding reception and SD went out and bought a huge amount of champagne to make Mimosas. It ought to be really fun!

SD may or may not have told me she thinks she's in love with our best friends' son. Hmmm... Let's see. He's smart, good looking, funny, finished grad school, has a great job, and his parents are our best friends in the world. That would be just too good to be true, which is probably why nothing will really come of it. But, I can sure dream about it....

Hurricane Ike Predicted To Hit Galveston Head On...

It appears our Galveston friends have chosen the perfect time to come back home. Ike has been gathering strength and already left some damage in his path. I was looking at the Weather Channel this morning and the footage they showed of the Sea Wall was very scary. They also showed beach houses with the ground floor already flooding. That means our friends' new house (ground floor) is most likely flooded. Luckily, the ground floor is just the lower patio, garage, and elevator. No one at the beach actually has living quarters on the ground floor. Everything is on stilts.

They still own the first house as well, but I doubt that it has flooded yet either, because it's one block farther away from the beach & somewhat higher. However, they are predicting that Ike will reach Category 3 status by the time it makes landfall. At this point, no one really knows what the outcome will be. Mandatory evacuations have been issued for Galveston, so they are apparently expecting the worst.

This just breaks my heart. Our friends have worked so hard on their new home and it is so beautiful. Of course they have insurance, but that cannot begin to pay for all the love and time they have put into this place. Still, they knew the risks of buying beachfront property and they are good with it. They must have some great insurance.

I'm also thinking about our Louisiana friends, as they live in Mandeville.

So, I'm asking for prayers for Galveston and the entire Gulf Coast. It looks as if they are going to need them.

Tonight I Was The Perfect Poster Child for How Not To Act In Church..... Especially Weddings

Wow! I am truly at a loss for words. I'm not sure that I can even begin to describe this wonderful wedding & reception tonight. Or even remember all of it, for that matter. But I'm willing to give the memory the old college try. It was almost like an Odyssey. A wonderful, delightful Odyssey that allowed everyone invited to actually be a part of this young couple's life, now and as long as we live. To tell you the honest truth, I've never experienced anything like this before. It was completely moving and I was starting to well up.

We arrived at the church about 15 minutes before the wedding was to start. We were handed these gorgeous programs for the ceremony. Our Galveston friends' son was an usher, so we spotted him and he raced over to us so that he could be the one to seat us. He is so adorable! Evidently, I'm falling behind on things, because I didn't realize that they don't seat you according to bride's or groom's side anymore. Good. That could so often be noticeably lop-sided, so this is a good change.

After the seating of the Grandmothers and the mothers, the procession finally began. The bridesmaids had on the most divine pale mocha colored full length satin strapless gowns. Each one also had a matching satin shawl that they each had tied where it goes around the shoulders, under the arms, and ties in the back. So fashionable. And, they all chose to wear their hair *up* in the Breakfast-At-Tiffany's-Audrey-Hepburn style. It was so incredibly chic! I never had that kind of style back when we got married at 25. I was a tasteless babe in the woods compared to this.

At that moment I started thinking that the groom's mother, my deceased best friend, would have been so pleased and proud. Frankly, I knew beforehand that I would do it to myself. I was starting to tear up and I knew what was just around the corner. The dam bursting. Oh, no. No. I kept telling myself "Don't do this now. You'll ruin your makeup and make a complete idiot out of yourself." Still, it looked like a pretty sure thing. Until the minister said something that totally stunned me.

He began to speak to the couple about how the odds were against them and that in all probablility, they would end up divorced. Then, he proceeded to go on some kind of rant about marriage being on the eve of destruction and all kinds of chaotic thoughts. Whew! I'm not even sure what he said for a bit after that zinger because my brain had frozen on that. I looked at Mr. Snooty for some kind of recognition but I'm pretty sure he was asleep. I looked to my other side where an adorable young man (friend of the couple) was sitting and he looked at me. We both had these looks on our faces that said WTH? As I glanced around the full church I saw that it was contagious. Many others seemed to have the same look upon their faces. Anyway, this continued on and this young man next to me & I got the giggles. I know, I am 55 and should be able to control such behavior. Especially in church. Especially as an example to younger people.

Tonight, I was the poster child for How Not To Act in Church, especially a wedding. It turned out to be one of those almost painful giggles where you want to stop really badly, but every time that you even glance sideways at the other giggler, it starts all over again. Yes, I'm ashamed to admit it. It reached a point that I almost had to be removed from the church. From the church where my best friend's son was getting married. My best friend who died two years ago today. I have a sneaky suspicion that she may have had a hand in this. She always was a very resourceful girl.

I've never before been to a church of this particular denomination and I don't want to name names, but it starts with an L. Unlike those starting with an M, a P, a C, or a B. I was definitely schooled tonight, in a round about way. It still did not help me to keep myself in check, most unfortunately.... I'm just thankful that we were sitting in the very back of the church. I think we went relatively unnoticed other than those sitting... oh, say... 10-15 rows away in every direction. Yes, I acted like a 12 year old. With my cute 25 year old boyfriend sitting next to me. While Mr. Snooty was asleep on the other side of me. During the wedding ceremony. Surely this is going to put us over the top for that *Couple of the Year* nomination.

Anyway, back to the wedding. Stay focused. At the church they had an entire orchestra playing, which included horns and strings. It was truly beautiful. Then, during the lighting of the candles, they had someone else playing a harp with music that was so soothing, I nearly started racking Z's. Until I looked over at my new boyfriend turned-partner-in-crime. All I had to see was his shoulders shaking from laughter with my peripheral vision. It started all over again. I AM SO IMMATURE!!!!! So, when the final prayer was said, I asked God to please protect these two precious young people and PLEASE don't let me get started with the giggles again. Please. I beg you. Probably shouldn't have wasted a God Beg there, but I was on the verge of going over the edge... publicy, no less.

The wedding lasted approximately 35 minutes, but we had been instructed to remain seated until all of the rows in front of us were escorted out of the sanctuary. Well, there's a good argument for not sitting in the back. Which I leaned over and whispered to my new young boyfriend. Which caused the giggling to begin again. So, we both did the proper thing and bowed our heads as we tried to suppress our hysteria. You know, so we'd look like we were praying or something virtuous like that. Which drew a look of disapproval from Mr. Snooty when he woke up. I gave him one right back. I'd rather be guilty of giggling in church than sleeping. Thank you very much.

Shortly after the ceremony everyone congregated again at The Petroleum Club for the reception and sit down dinner. When we first arrived the bride & groom had not yet arrived, so I got a quick shot of the gorgeous wedding cake and the amazing flowers. The appetizers included assorted canape's, boiled shrimp w/ cocktail sauce, assorted cheeses and an Open Bar. They also had a string quartet playing during the hors d'oeurves. Mr. Snooty and I started thinking that this was all that was going to be served, so we were discussing whether or not to leave in a bit to go feed elsewhere.

Then, a friend of mine mentioned that we should go retrieve our dinner placecards, which had the table number on it. Seeing the puzzled looks we had, she said that behind the white satin curtains (the main dining room) was where our dinner awaited. You see, I knew this was going to be a sit-down dinner but Mr. Snooty had somehow convinced me I was wrong. You know, because he's always so knowledgeable about everything, all the time. Hello. He was wrong. I was right. SCORE!!!! Here's a picture of the *Menu*. It was wonderful. Enough said.

Then, the bride & groom danced, then bride & father of the bride danced. They had the most outstanding jazz band with a female lead singer who was amazing. Then, although there was a fabulous main dinner table for the wedding party, this interesting young couple went out and worked the crowd. I loved it! I saw them sitting for perhaps 5 seconds, as you will see in the shots that I was trying to take. The rest of the time they were going around speaking to literally everyone in the room. It was quite something to witness. I'm still in awe of these two.

If anyone else remembers being made to stand in a reception line at their wedding, please raise your hand. How boring and dull and totally uninventive. I remember how horribly my feet hurt and that I hardly knew any of the people. Fun times there. Tonight, this couple made sure that they spoke personally to everyone, gave hugs to everyone, made everyone else feel special. It was truly the most enchanting wedding reception that I've ever been to.

The menu was totally delectible. Here's a picture of Mr. Snooty's plate. Yummm!

Check out these flowers at our table. Are they not divine?

Oh! Then, as a wedding favor, they had CD's of their favorite romantic music for all to listen to on the way home.

All in all, we had a most wonderful time. I think this couple is going to be married as long as they live. No doubts whatsoever.

So, after the reception they were off by private plane to Dallas and then on to Fiji for two weeks. Even though we wished them well, I don't think they will need it. These two special young people have their feet firmly planted on the ground and know exactly what their future is all about. Wow! I wish I'd been so confident at that age.

They had roses in great abundance and I have never been one to pass up smelling the roses. We'll talk about the change in outfits for the wedding when I am able to speak rationally & not sound like a lunatic when I talk about it.