Three Weddings and a Funeral
Saturday, August 11, 2007 at 12:06AM I recently got back from LA, where I went to my old college friend’s wedding. Aimee, the bride, is originally from LA, actually Bel Aire, to be exact. I went to college with Aimee at Hampshire College in Massachusetts; we both lived in the dorms, on the same floor. One of the main reasons I chose Hampshire, was because they had single rooms for all freshmen. I had never shared a room with anyone; I had basically grown up alone, because my sisters were 14 and 15 years older than I was. Anyway, enough about me, this blog is a tribute to Aimee!!!
Aimee’s fiancé, Kieran, is originally from Paris. They both met at Dartmouth College, where she is an English professor concentrating on Irish literature, like James Joyce. And Kieran, is studying to get his Ph.D., as well. The reason I titled this blog “Three Weddings and a Funeral,” because in France, you first have to go before a mayor to actually get married. The ceremony with the priest or rabbi, is just a formality. So first, they had to present themselves to the mayor, not in Paris, they were actually married at her fiancé's parents country house in a small town, with a population of 50 people. Then they had a day wedding, formal ceremony with the priest, and about 75 guests, in a church that was like 500 years old, and right out of ‘A Year in Provence.’ Then the party continued in Los Angeles, where they were married for the third time, at a night wedding, in a fabulous deco restaurant, in the historic district of downtown. And I'm sure everybody wants to know, did the bride have two dresses, but of course! Aimee wore a duchess satin gown with a train, trimmed with embroidery. Aimee is what I aspire to be, not only is she an only child, but she's a Virgo born one week after me. Nobody knows that god is in the details, like Aimee!!!
Now it's back to me, ‘the funeral’ is the death of my relationship with my boyfriend. But it wasn't a sad one, during this trip I met a lot of people at the wedding, who were very inspired by my story. How I could pick up the pieces, make it to the wedding, and could celebrate in Aimee's happiness. I also, saw a lot of close friends in LA, and it was good reconnecting with all of them. In addition, this was the first time that I drove alone, on the highway, outside of New York City, after my stroke, which happened in April 2005. Moreover, this was the first time I ever drove a Prius, Toyota’s infamous hybrid vehicle. For those of you who haven't driven a Prius, it is definitely an exercise in cognitive abilities, to say the least!
Now, I'd like to thank all of those that have gotten me generous gifts for my registry, and helped me move. I am planning a dinner for those of you who lent a hand, in any way, setting me up in my new place. I will contact you individually, but I'd like to coordinate it so everyone can join me. In addition, I'm having formal stationery made up, to send thank you notes to everyone, and a reminder that I will be having a holiday party in December 2007.
I'd like to reflect back on what happened to me in the last week and a half, during my move. It was not pretty, not as bad as being in the ICU with 106 fever, packed in ice, with a heart rate of 160 beats per minute, but still bad. For some reason, the electricity was not turned on in my new apartment on August 1, some complications with the former tenant not paying their ConEd bill. The electricity was not turned on until August 2 at 12 noon, and if you were in New York City, we were having a heat wave. To top things off, when I was returning the U-Haul van, I realized that I had lost my wallet. I was so tired, drained mentally and physically, and standing in line I just broke down crying. What did I do, I called my ex-boyfriend, I knew he was at the gym, which was around the corner from the U-Haul place. Ultimately, I stayed with my ex-boyfriend for the night, I slept downstairs in the office on the pullout bed. In the morning, my ex-boyfriend ordered me all new credit cards, and a license, to boot. So I guess it is an amicable breakup!!! (The wallet was send to my ex-boyfriends apartment, after I misplaced it in a restaurant on the day of the move.)
In a few days, I had the air-conditioning, the TV, the phone, and most importantly, I could get online! It was late Sunday night, and I was unwrapping more packages from Crate & Barrel, and Bed Bath& Beyond, but there was no one there to share them with. In addition, the late-night movie was about a young woman, who got divorced, and had just moved into a new apartment, with a loud and obnoxious upstairs neighbor, played by Ally Sheedy?! (Sad on top of sad.)
Just last night, I opened another box from Crate & Barrel. This is the first one I got with gift-wrap, and I have to say they do a pretty nice job with a grosgrain ribbon. The gift included two champagne flutes “so I could celebrate.” Of course I can't drink, because of the liver disease. So I ordered a pizza from Domino's, which I do on a regular basis, and I went out, and bought some sparkling grape juice to start the beginning of my new life!
Reader Comments (2)
Three weddings! How lucky! Sorry about your misfortunes! Things will get easier!
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