Victory Lap
The last week at the onset seemed an uphill climb. At the Hall, there was a retirement party, our Lava Lounge, then Reggae Fest, two TV spots at the buttcrack of dawn (my Russian friend likes to call it this), then a wedding, where I would be presiding, and that was just at the Hall. In my private life there was a disappointment to overcome.
It started with the disappointment and as is my tendency, at first, I blew it off. Meh, this happened, it wasn’t what I wanted, but meh I told myself. But I stopped that usual script and instead thought: I’m disappointed. Sad too. I went ahead and claimed all my feelings – a little put out by someone else’s lack of mindfulness, and then appreciative I had not invested myself more than I had. It was good to close and punctuate what had been a promise and had evaporated.
All of these other public things on my to do list were handled as well, but it’s the wedding where I’ll take my victory lap. The couple – Doug & Erin – have held a special place in my heart since I met them. They both arrived on the scene in Bay Saint Louis and immediately jumped in 200% giving their love and energy to making our community a better place. Ahem, I’d like to think I know them. Maybe I am them. When they said they wanted to get married at the Hall, I said, fantastic. When they said they wanted me to officiate, I said woo hoo! When I asked them if they wanted me to say anything in particular, they said, we trust that what you say will be perfect.
And (ahem) I think it was.
The words wrote themselves. Drummer gal meets DJ guy and they get hitched at a music hall. I am not a huge fan of weddings, even though I’ve had three myself – the tendency to follow the same playbook, to bore people out of their minds, to create an illusion of fantasy that doesn’t exist and the wedding party always skittish and needy and nervous. But on Saturday, I had the honor to wed Doug & Erin, and it was a beautiful thing.
