By Staff
The role of mother-of-the-bride is really not defined. I suppose I could go to the library or internet and read up on what my duties are but I don't have time.
Being the mother-of-the-groom at the same time is so much easier. I do what I am told or asked and stay in the background until needed.
This weekend the family had back to back showers for my daughter and my son's fiance.
To my daughter's delightful surprise, she discovered you receive both shower and wedding gifts. She may not have waited until she was 25 had she known how much fun it is to get new towels and dishes.
My car was loaded down with matching boxes from the places she registered.
The morning after I had gotten the invitation to her shower given by her four aunts, I made a stop at Pier One, one of the places it said she had registered.
After searching under both her name and that of my future son-in-law, I used my cell phone to wake her up.
I insisted she leave immediately to go register, something she hadn't gotten around to yet.
We met at another Pier One and there she and Andy had a fun time running around with this portable scanning unit choosing items they both liked.
The people who came to her shower Saturday must have also liked the "fun" things, as she got her precious ceramic whale and some unique and colorful vases.
Since the wedding will be outside when the temperature is still probably warm, I spied large red and gold Asian parasols which thankfully had my favorite four letter word on their tag - "sale!"
They will look good, I hope, lining the path as she walks to her new role as wife.
We also found those tiny paper umbrellas for the drinks on summer clearance.
When my children were young I was so worried they would marry too young. Later I wondered if they would ever marry.
Shane will have turned 31 when he marries in New Hampshire this October.
At his Jessica's shower Sunday, we encouraged her to break some ribbons as she opened her shower presents. An old wives' tale says that predicts the number of children the bride will bear.
She was very careful, leaving just a few at the end of the pile to purposely break.
The younger cousins had fun at both showers pulling the ribbons and bows through a hole on a paper plate to make a mock bouquet for the wedding rehearsal.
I couldn't be happier for either of my two youngest children with their choice of life's partner.
Life isn't easy and along with the fun times they will need to weather the storms the future may hold.
One gift which a great-aunt has traditionally given is a single glass. She finds these at antique shops so each one is unique for the couple.
With it she types out a verse saying after a major disagreement one partner is to fill the glass and take it to the other asking them to drink and forgive.
To have a long and happy life together it will be necessary to forgive and forget.