Nurture — Day 5
Prompt: “Describe a moment when you felt the most alive. What were you doing, and what made it so special?
In recent memory, that would have to be my Wedding Day. It was late July, 11 years ago—a day I will remember with crystal clarity until my last day!
I spent the night before sleeping over at an in-law’s home—keeping alive the “tradition” of not seeing my future Hubsand until our wedding. It was also the home of our Best Young Man; we also had two Best Men and a Best Lady. After a light breakfast, I went next-door to my Hubsand’s Mom’s home (where Marm was staying) and had a private moment with her where she gave me a Blessing of the Priestess (Marm has always been my direct conduit to the Goddess). Once we were all dressed, cleaned and coifed, we made out way to the small Unitarian church where Hubs and I were to be married.
The day would have been flawless…except we forgot the boutonnières for Hubs and myself. Guess who drove the 10 min back to his Mom’s place…go on guess… Yep! It were me! I didn’t mind in the slightest. By that point, I was literally existing on what seemed like a misty current of absolute, unbridled, perfect joy. I didn’t even notice the photographer (extended family) we had hired for the day snapping “anonymous” pics throughout the day. I even managed natural smiles! (A lifetime spent with crooked teeth before getting braces as an adult made me smile-wary). Soon after returning from my impromptu drive, we were ready for the grand procession down the aisle. The order was as follows:
Best Lady escorted by Best Man (1)
Best Young Man and Best Man (2)
Hubsand escorting his Mom
Myself with Marm (and her husband)
The procession started with “Truly, Madly, Deeply” playing over the speakers as our wedding song. It was ended by a literal bang as our Best Lady bumped into an enormous gong before walking down the aisle. It was perfect!! With her stumble, she managed to indicate that the music should stop, out guests should be quiet, and the procession was starting. We still laugh our heads off remembering that 😂. After everyone had taken their places, the ceremony began. If you were looking directly at us, Hubsand was on the right, with his Best Man and Best Young man witnessing for him, while I was on the left with my Best Man and Best Lady standing for me. The Minister conducted a beautiful ceremony that was non-denominational (neither Hubs nor myself are Christian although we were both raised in that Faith family). Our Best Lady followed by giving us a further Blessing of the Goddess (both she and I are Pagan). Keeping with our twists on tradition, it should come as no surprise, Gentle Reader, that our ceremony was closed with a prayer (of sorts) taken from DUNE:
I stand in the sacred human presence. As I do now, so should you stand some day. I pray to your presence that this be so. Let the future remain uncertain for that is the canvas to receive our desires. Thus the human condition faces its perpetual tabula rasa. We possess no more than this moment where we dedicate ourselves continuously to the sacred presence we share and create.
[Prayer of Initiation into the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood — taken from Chapterhouse DUNE ]
I remember standing there, while the Minister and our Best Lady spoke their wonderful words, staring into my (now) Hubsand’s eyes, feeling like I should burst from all the LIght and Joy I was feeling, while knowing that, from that day forward, I would always have the capacity to hold, embrace, and transform that Light and Joy. I needn’t feel the fear of bursting; I was limitless. I had truly never felt so alive before that moment of realization. Hubsand and I were now our very own binary star system, revolving around our shared “point of gravity” for the rest of our lives together, while other “satellites” shared our small portion of the Universe. We were both weeping from Joy by the time the above prayer was spoken and couldn’t have cared less about how “looked” to those sitting in the audience. Even stars weep from Joy!
I spent the next week (at least) continuing to be carried by that misty current of Joy. It lasted through the pot-luck bbq we had for a reception (you must ask me for my pulled-pork recipe!), brunch with the extended family the next day, saying our goodbyes to one BestMan and Marm (they had to travel 1500 km by train to their homes), Hubs and I driving our Best Lady to her home about 350 km away, and then spending our honeymoon with Best Lady and her husband. A whole week of Joy, each day spent with each other and extended family, never once worrying about the cares of “normal life”. For that one week, neither Hubs nor I allowed ourselves to worry about our future, our near-poverty day-to-day life, the concerns of the outside world, or all the little things that can ruin a typical day. We were stars!!!
Since that wonderful day, Hubs and my life have been through major changes: we moved three times, we’ve gained and lost roommates, Hubs secured the career that he now loves (initially completely outside his own comfort zone), Marm had her heart attack (2020) and passed earlier this year, and I returned to creating Art after many years away from the practice. It has certainly not been a “bed of roses” since our marriage. But…
That one glorious, perfect, stellar day had such an impact that we both spend much of July, each year, reflecting on its “lessons”. Our wedding day serves as a touchstone to remind us that Joy is always possible, that we are each other’s anchor, and that the “human condition” must always be open to change. These are the moments that we much cherish—not by hiding them away in photobooks. Rather, we must let them live on a regular basis within us, we must let them guide us when life is dark, and we must revisit them when we need a boost of energy.
Life…is to be lived, Gentle Reader.
LIVE!!!
As always, be well,
Gryph (and Hubs)
