My sister is a Mrs.!

How on earth do you describe the week before a wedding? Exhausting, elating, exciting, full of errands. I feel a little like I did after Inauguration, actually; it took a few days for me to recover (in January from the cold, this time from sleep deprivation) so that I could look back on the week and see all of the wonder of it, but when I did, it was pretty darn amazing.

There were so many moments that were just incredible: my sister tearing up during her speech at the rehearsal dinner; the look on my brother-in-law's face as my sister walked down the aisle; my father weeping during the father-daughter dance; my sister dancing with our 91-year-old grandpa; my nephew showing off his moves to Michael Jackson. My sister and brother-in-law's amazing group of friends who came to share their day. All my family - including my uncle - gathered together for the first time in years. My boyfriend there to share the week with me.

The wedding definitely marked the end of the summer for me, and the transition from vacation to fall activities. This was my summer of family, from the wedding to my nephew's Boston visit all the way back to my six weeks of Virginia vacation. I needed the break; but more than that, I needed to center myself with my most important people before I moved on to my next stage of things. It's a little strange being back in Boston without them.

Y'know what else is strange? My sister changed her name! Not that this is unusual in terms of what people do when they get married ... but I still can't get used to her new appellation. Not that she stops being one of us - the gravitational pull of our family is too strong for that! ;-) - but we're now down to only two of us with our maiden names. Who will preserve the family surname for future generations, with all of us being girls? Between me and my youngest sister, who will be the next to change her name on Facebook? (Yes, that's right - it hasn't really happened until it happens on Facebook, no matter what your other legal documents might say.)

Anyway, it was gorgeous, moving, fun, crazy, busy, and fabulous. Just what a wedding should be! It was very labor intensive, though ... as I told my sis, I definitely expect her and her husband to stay together, because I'm only doing all of that for her once. :-)