One of The Boy’s cousins got married last Friday. In was in upstate New York where most of his family is based. His mom has 10 siblings, 8 of whom have children. Most of those families are not only children families and many of those children are on to having kids of their own. As an only child who isn’t close to her extended family, that was a lot of people.
We crashed with his Uncle Joel and Aunt Monica. Their daughters Kim and Callie, around my age, still lived at home. They were incredibly kind and showed love as many families do, with food. Monica and Kim had very big personalities and enjoyed the company. The Boy’s sister older Bonnie and her son Marvin were staying with other relatives. His parents and other sister were staying at a nearby hotel.
The happy couple was Elle who was marrying Craig. Her parents were Aunt Anna, Uncle Marc, and Anna’ second husband whose name escapes me. Elle’s matron of honor was her sister Nina whose husband Dan was a groomsman. Dina was also a bridesmaid and her sisters, Vera and Sandy (plus her husband) were there. Randall played guitar, Bruce was a character, Cam was lovely, and Tony was there with his wife Kourtney and they are expecting a baby boy in a couple of months. Aunt Nora, Uncle Sam, Aunt Linda, Uncle Gordon, Aunt Beatrice were all very welcoming. Connor, Farrah, and Maya are all the youngest of the bunch not having hit high school yet.
If that sounds complicated factor in that I’m trying to remember enough real names to make up passable pseudonyms. All the real names are so damn normal it was hard to keep straight. There was even overlap between a blood uncle and one who married in. I was really hoping for a Gertrude or a Hamish.
I met most of them at the wedding which made it even more complicated to keep it all straight. I knew a few going in but Aunt Nina enjoyed hearing The Boy give me a who’s who before there ceremony started. Almost all the relatives knew me from Facebook since I regularly post pictures of our antics. I think the relatives who didn’t recognize me from FB were fewer than 5.
The ceremony included rings and hand fasting which is an ancient pagan tradition I love. The officiant was a woman which was also neat. The bouquet toss was rigged but I’m fine with that. A cousin I don’t think I met just got engaged and Callie will be moving in with her boyfriend in January so The Boy and I aren’t on the radar yet.
I wish I’d spent more than 5 minutes talking to Elle and Craig; I’m sure I would have liked them. They cut the cake with his grandfather’s military dress sword and Craig said “This is not the red wedding. You are all safe.” I looked at The Boy and said I’d marry him for his family.
I showed up with The Boy and I basically got a whole new set of relatives. Everyone was happy I was making The Boy happy and just seemed to glad to have me.
Saturday was lunch at a German deli with Gordon, Beatrice, their young daughter Maya, Bonnie, her son Marvin, The Boys folks, and his sister who lives near us. Then we went back to The Boy’s parent’s suite to watch Aliens with immediate family. Before heading over to Gordon’s for dinner we wandered around a sort-of mall with crafty shops. Dinner at Gordon’s had the same crowd from earlier plus Aunt Linda, Farrah, and Aunt Nina to the mix. Gordon and Beatrice had meatballs, homemade gnocchi, eggplant lasagna and salad. I have learned socializing with this family requires at least 4 kinds of cheese at any event.
It took until Saturday night for me to get overwhelmed. At Gordon’s I was texting a friend and went into the TV room. I heard people notice I was gone and I texted The Boy I was hiding. I love his family but I needed a break. The 10 minute respite was enough to get me through dinner and dessert, both of which were delicious.
There was a briefly awkward moment when I thought his uncle would get into a political discussion. I finished breakfast quickly and discovered being a voting and registered independent is OK. Driving there and back with The Boy forced me to do something I had never done before. Let someone else drive my car.
The Boy did just fine and since we’re not too different in height, moved my mirrors minimally (say that 5 times fast). Traffic was never bad and the drive was good. Not once did The Boy or I have to fight the urge to kill each other. Our relationship is good and we have many plans for November. Plans for this week largely center on resting and doing very little.
Music: Now by SHeDAISY
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