A Wedding In The Family...Like Most, But Different

My niece Suzanne, got married last week.

She is one of my five nieces and nephews, and like the others, I have never gotten to know any of them very well. I like to think that it is mainly a question of geography - they all grew up in parts of the country far removed from where I was working; I would catch glimpses of them at weddings when they were younger, subsequently at family reunions, and more recently and regrettably at memorial services. We all lead busy and mobile lives, so our orbits do not always coincide.

Suzanne has always been her own person. Intelligent, knowledgeable, curious, and quick are adjectives which apply to her, and she has a wonderfully wicked sense of humor. After growing up mainly in Vermont, she went to college in Maine, and eventually moved to the West Coast and settled in northern California where she has lived for several years.

Her wedding was planned on quite short notice, aided and abetted by Suzanne's older sister, among others, and although not everyone in the families could be on hand for the ceremony and the festivities following, it was, by all reports, a memorable event. I expect that there were many tears of joy shed on scene and around the country by all who know and love the happy couple.

It's always good to have additions to the family - textures change, interactions encourage the exploration of new paths, and sometimes political discussions can rile the blood...much better than the same old same old at family gatherings. With families you always have to be
scraping away at the carapace of the same conversations too many times.

A lifetime commitment, solemnized formally, requires a significant kind of intellectual and emotional courage and so it is much to be both admired and appreciated; one can only hope this couple has as smooth a voyage as life's circumstances allow them.

And so I wish Suzanne and her mate Susannah all the joy and happiness and love of which humans are capable.

Some choices we make; some choices are made for us in other realms. What made us and what we have made of ourselves notwithstanding, love is love and love is blind -- characteristics for which we all should be grateful to the bottoms of our collective hearts, for reasons any spouse is happy to make clear to the other.

Bon voyage and my love to them both!