First off, I am definitely not of the mindset that the most important day in the life of a woman is the day she marries. No longer does that “match” set up her whole life. So while I did feel a sense of relief that it all went off without a hitch, I was more proud of Cherie the day she received her graduate degrees. Those degrees mean that she can live her life independent of Eric but also that she can be a full partner in this relationship. She can earn her own money and have her own rank in society. A partnership in equality is so much stronger than one of dependency. So while I am beyond thrilled that Eric is now an official part of our family, the wedding day itself was really just a fun family gathering to celebrate the legalized acknowledgement of Cherie and Eric’s friendship. It was also very special that Matt was the officiant and is an integral piece of the family they will be starting.
Another thing that became very apparent during this time, is how close all four of the “kids” have become. Matt was an awesome big brother and usually tried to include Cherie even though she is much younger than him. They rarely fought growing up mostly, I suspect, because he gave in to her over most things. Yes, she could be the bratty little sister but she adored him. He even let themselves be dressed as “twinsies ” until late middle school, although there was generally some eye rolling about that! When Jenny joined us was back in the UCSD journey, she also put up with Cherie and included her until I think they have become true friends. So glad that Cherie chose Jenny as her matron of honor and that they got to go to the coast and do a sort of bachelorette week together. And when Eric came into the picture at Gonzaga, Matt had to go give approval (or so he felt!) and told us that Eric was an OK guy. Eric is so much more than OK. Watching him put up with the four year separation and constantly going various places to make sure she got to her clinical etc safely, secured my love for him. So all in all, this wedding feels like a binding of friends all throughout the family. Auntie Mike had her place of honor. And of course, the bride was beautiful, the groom handsome, the officiant eloquent and the support staff wonderful.
