From the time our daughter Christa was engaged in July of 2009, I've pondered the idea of starting a blog to share some of the thoughts, feelings, and frustration of what it's like being "The Mother of the Bride." But being as busy as I am - as a wife, mom, CPA, small business owner, - the idea sadly went on the back burner. Sad, isn't it? One of the most important events that will happen in our daughter's life, and I wasn't keeping a record of it for posterity? Shame on me.
But now I shall try to make up for it in the weeks and months to come . . . even if tax season (the busiest time of the year for me) is now here.
First, a little background.
My husband Paul and I live in Cape Coral, Florida and have been married for almost 7 years. We have 3 children between us. Christa at 25 is our oldest. She has a bachelor's degree in finance/insurance from Northeastern University in Boston, but has gone back to college to become a nurse anesthesist. Brandon, our only son, is 21 and a junior at Notre Dame, currently working on a pre-med major - though over this Christmas vacation, I've been getting hints that might change to business. Better before he graduates, right? And our youngest, Megan, is 19 and lives in Canada with her mother. Still hasn't graduated from high school, but we're hopeful!
So, in other words, a typical dysfunctional piece-mealed-together American family for these times!
Now on to the more interesting stuff . . . that's actually on topic.
Since May of last year. I had known that Christa's fiance, Kellan, was going to propose to her in July.
They had been dating for almost 4 years and living together for almost 2, so it should hardly have been a surprise when I was told.
Typical of boyfriends, Kellan had almost never phoned me before that day. So when I saw his number come up on my cell, I knew before he spoke that it would be something monumental . But I was scared to answer it, because honestly the first thought that crossed my mind was something was seriously wrong with Christa . . . she was sick or had been in an accident, or something else horrid had happened.
I didn't really expect that he would ask my permission to marry her. Kind of old-fashioned. Or that I was to know she was getting engaged 2 1/2 months before she would know. That was kind of weird to me. But okay. I gave my permission, and kept my mouth shut for 75 days. One of the hardest things I ever had to do!
Now, you might ask, "Do you like Kellan?" Well, yes, we do. He certainly loves Christa - of that we have no doubt. He is supporting her while she goes back full time to college. He dotes on her. He's a hard worker, as evidenced by his obtaining a doctorate in physical therapy from Northeastern University. He's a gentle soul. He's kind of quiet, but that's fine.
There are a few things we would change if we could, but that's true of just about anyone, right? You other moms of the bride out there, you know what I'm talking about!
Anyway . . .
So on July 18, Kellan proposed to Christa, and of course she said yes. Her screams of happiness could practically be heard from their home in Charlottesville, VA to Florida. They have lots of pictures of the event on Christa's Facebook page; people have told us it's one of the most innovative, charming and romantic proposals of marriage they've ever seen.
And if I can figure out how to put in into a slideshow, or post them on YouTube to music or something, or even how to do it here, I will!
Next post - how Christa and Kellan flew to Florida the next week to tell our whole family and have a celebration party.
Stay tuned . . . I promise you this will get very interesting!
