Christmas back in Charleston

 Our first Christmas with TWO grandchildren! We crammed a lot in 2 and a half days!

Brittany bought us all matching jammies which we wore the evening we got there for cocoa bombs and a Christmas movie.

Kennedy making cookies for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve

Fabulous appetizer spread with margaritas for our Christmas Eve dinner

I gave Jackson this little outfit because I thought it looked like Charleston!

New Toys!

Merry Christmas!!!

Kennedy had her first gymnastic's lesson and we were there!

John and I just got back from a week in Charleston filled with new things and celebrations!

Kennedy's swim lesson the night we got there which John and Dan went to, her first gymnastic class we all went to, her 3rd birthday party, Father's Day, our anniversary and her actual birth DAY! We packed a lot of fun and good memories into that time!!

She had a ball at gymnastics and I was really impressed with how busy they kept the kids and how many different things they got to do:

                                                     
Oh, and check out her cute mermaid leotard!!!

Kennedy stops by - and there's SNOW!

Brittany and Kennedy stopped by for lunch last Friday on their way up the mountain to visit friends for the weekend.

I love that she went straight from their car, through our family room and up the stairs to her playroom. She not only remembers everything, but feels at home! :)

After lunch we had a little time to play in the snow:

Celebrating a New Year with Kennedy

It was the in-laws year for Christmas this time, so John and I drove down to Charleston the following weekend. We decided that the day we arrived would be our Christmas and the next day New Year's Eve. (Which it really was.)

Kennedy was napping when we arrived, giving us a chance to unpack, get settled and play one of our favorite games; Catch Phrase. Boys against Girls. (And girls almost always win!)

As soon as she woke up we opened presents, then because the weather was so nice and supposed to turn much colder for the rest of the week we headed to their local playground for a bit.

Then Christmas dinner!!
Sunday after church the guys went to see Star Wars while the girls put together a gingerbread house.
That night the adults went downtown Charleston for a New Year's Eve dinner.

I can never remember if we're supposed to end the year with the people we love most, or begin the new year with the people we want to be with the most in the upcoming year. But, either way - we've got it covered! Happy 2018!

Babysitting Kennedy all Weekend!

It finally happened! At 22 months of age, Kennedy's parents left her overnight! And not just one night, but 2!!

Brittany was turning 30 and she and Dan went to Hilton Head for the weekend to celebrate.

And John and I went to Charleston to stay with Baby K!

We decided to do whatever K wanted....Friday night she wanted to go to the Art Crawl downtown and loved all the art and people who wanted to meet her. She especially liked walking some of the beautiful side streets south of Broad because she loved to sit on every stoop, jump up and down on every man hole and touch every flower. Oh, and having Nana and Papa each take a hand and swing her over curbs.

On Saturday Kennedy wanted to take us to Charleston's Farmer's Market. How did she know it's one of my favorite things to do here? From there we walked to the "other" market looking for birthday presents for two of her great aunts. And even ran into people we knew!

Next we found a sunny spot for a picnic and then headed to the North Charleston Arts Fest where she watched a puppet show, checked out all kinds of art and made herself a bracelet with her name on it.

Needless to say her nap was a bit late today! When she got up she helped me make Avocado Pesto Spaghetti because she's expressed a strong interest in the vegetarian lifestyle!

Sunday was our last day of Kennedy being in charge of us! We went to their church that morning and then went to the Water Front park in Mount Pleasant for a walk. She suggested we stop at Trader Joe's since she knows we don't have one in Hickory. While there we picked up some flowers and wine to welcome her mommy and daddy home. And put some birthday balloons on their mailbox for good measure.

Monday we had a last breakfast with her before she went to daycare and we went home. Great weekend!

Earth Day with Kennedy

Brittany brought Kennedy up for a short weekend which happened to fall on Earth Day.

So we started our Saturday at the Farmer's Market.

Next we went to a special program at the library where the band uses all recycled items.

And Kennedy danced!

Outside she focused on a simple dandelion.

Later we went out on the boat. More fresh air - and a much needed nap!

Baby!

Brittany’s pregnancy went fast! She had four showers which were all lovely and great fun.

And we really saw the power of Facebook at them! I had made one remark on my page that Brittany really liked Kennedy’s monogram: KSR. And every other gift seemed like it was monogrammed! Even a book bag and a little robe and slippers!

I can’t wait to put her little head in a turban, teeny tiny cucumber slices on her eyes and put on her robe and slippers. We’ll have a spa day!!

One of my friends gave me a “Grandma bag” ( pretty pink tote) filled with books to read to Kennedy and a Baby book to fill out for myself!

It was all really fun!

But nothing prepared me for being in the room when Kennedy was born. They induced Brittany on Saturday, June 20^th about 8:30 in the morning. John and I arrived at 1 pm and not long after that she began to push. (For two hours). John had to move to the waiting room, but Dan and I stayed and “helped”!

Literally I held my breath and pushed against her leg every time she pushed!

Just when I had decided we weren’t getting anywhere, the doctor uncovered a tray of tools and the staff began to get in different positions; like all their encouragements to Brittany all afternoon was just to keep her going. They didn’t really expect anything to happen.

Until now!

Suddenly the doctor was holding Kennedy up for all to see! (And she was a mess! Bless her heart – just covered with icky stuff!!) But I got choked up and I hugged Dan and saw tears in his eyes too.

I followed the nursery nurse over to the scale while everyone else tended to Brittany. I watched them measure her chest and head, listen to her heart, take her hand and feet prints and rub her down with a dry towel.

And then!

They let me hold her!!

And I never wanted to put her down!! She was so pure, so tiny, so sweet, and so completely dependent; I knew I’d do anything she asked for the rest of my life!

The Grandmother’s Club

When I was expecting Brittany I felt like I was joining The Moms’ Club. Something I’d never known existed until I started letting women know I was pregnant.

Suddenly ladies who were already moms seemed more interested in me. They fell all over themselves offering me advice, maternity clothes and inviting me to do things with them. It was a little surreal.

Well, guess what? Now that I’ve found out I’m going to become a grandmother, I’ve discovered there’s a Grandmothers’ Club too! Everyone I know who is a grandparent has rushed to tell me “There is nothing like it” and “Just wait! It’s the best thing ever!”

So I’ve happily joined the club and while I’m waiting, I’m shopping. But only to keep Brittany from shopping.

Let me explain.

Brittany and Dan had just come up with a very strict budget before finding out they were expecting. And knowing Brittany like I do I knew the baby would be a wonderful reason for her to go on shopping sprees. So I suggested she wait until after her baby-shower to see what she needed. She agreed that was a good idea.

Not long after saying that, John and I went to visit them and Brittany and I decided to just “take a peek” at the Carters Outlet. And I bought two sets of clothes. I could tell that if at least one of us bought something for the baby Brittany could hold off. (And I must say it was a good thing we didn’t know the sex at that point because the little boy and little girl items were beyond precious!)

On our next weekend visit we knew the baby was a girl and again just stopped into a baby store to “look.” They were having a sale and Brittany kept picking up things that were both adorable and “a steal”, so again I bought. (I’m going to her shower after all and will need a gift.)

A couple weeks later she visited us and I took her to a baby store a friend had told me about. This time I was the one pulling tiny dresses off the rack to show her. I had to stop myself because really they are labeled 0-3 months and 3-6 months for a reason. They outgrow that size in about 90 days or less! So we shouldn’t fill her closet with more outfits then days in that size!

Brittany agreed with that too. But, the next time we were at her house she asked if John would go with Dan to pick up a dresser for the baby’s room that she had ordered. Later that day we went to Lowe’s to buy a closet system for the nursery. And soon after we returned to Hickory she called to tell me “the rocking chair for the baby’s room just came in.”

And I decided to stop trying to intervene. Brittany has always been able to outspend me, I can’t keep up. It’s against my nature. So I’m going to sit back and wait for little Kennedy to make her appearance. Because I’ve heard that one of those “best things ever” about being a grandparent is being able to watch your own child “handle” theirs!

Names, Names, Names

Almost the first question people ask when they find out Brittany and Dan are expecting (besides “when are they due?”) is, “Have they picked out names yet?”

And they’ve worked hard at it! Nearly everyday Brittany would call me to see what I thought about a name. It was surprisingly hard to find a middle name that sounded good with the first names she was coming up with. It was also hard because they had to come up with names for both sexes even though they’d only be using one.

Then invariably Dan wouldn’t like the name or one of her friends wouldn’t so eventually she decided she and Dan would decide alone and “announce” the name as a “done deal”.

Good idea!

They chose the boy name first and when she called to tell me I held my breath hoping I would like it. I did!

Later when she called me with the decision on the girl’s name she said, “And the monogram for that one is really nice!”

She IS a southern girl after all!

So with that taken care of I could get down to the business of picking my Grandma name!

(There are so many things our parents didn’t have to worry about that we do!)

I asked every woman I knew who had grandchildren what their Grandma name was. Who knew there was such a variety? Lady Bug, Bitsy, Miss Betty, along with the more common ones: Gigi, Cici, Nana. Nana of course makes the most sense given that my name is Nancy, but a LOT of grandmas are called Nana. I thought the whole reason you pick Grandma names was to show your relationship was special! Different!

I even Googled “modern grandma names” “foreign grandma names”  “trendy grandma names”. Nothing hit me!

Someone suggested to wait and see what the baby calls me, but does that mean its parents won’t refer to me for the first year of its life? Or say, “Baby, look at that lady over there!”

Another friend who will soon be a grandma says she wants to be called “Favorite” which would leave “Other” for the …other…grandma. While I thought that was a fun idea I’m not sure I could do that!

For now I’m trying out Nana.

But we have a few months left before KENNEDY RAE arrives so if you have a great idea for a name for me let me know!

Surprise!

Brittany called on her way home from work one night and the first thing she said was, “Promise you won’t get mad?”

Of course my mind started racing wondering what she could have done that would cause her to ask. Before I could say anything she started sobbing.

Now I was really concerned! “Brittany, are you ok?”

“I’m pregnant!”

“Well, you’ve always wanted kids! And you wanted them before your second anniversary. So why are you crying?”

“Because the timing’s so bad!”

And then I started doing the math. She will be 7 months pregnant when John and I take she and Dan to Punta Cana for all of our birthdays in the spring.

And Dan had just taken on a loan to buy into another Jersey Mike’s store and they were just starting a new very strict budget.

I told her we’d make the trip a “last time it’s just the four of us” celebration. And she’d just have to re-do her budget to include a baby!

She cheered up, but said, “This wasn’t how I always planned on telling you!” I laughed knowing she had collected all the clever Facebook and Pinterest announcements people have done and told her she could use them on the rest of the family.

Except John, who she decided to call next.

When he walked into the kitchen that evening I turned to look at the expression on his face. I sort of expected him to be shaking his head over the timing. (Not about the trip, but about the money.)

But he had a huge grin on his face and said as he came up to hug me “Isn’t it exciting?”

I said, “You’re happy?” And his eyes teared up as he said, “Yes! It’s amazing!”

So we are in the throws of expecting! And it’s different from when I went through it 27 years ago. For one thing she went to the doctor when she was about three and a half weeks along and had an ultra sound a week later where she saw the heart beat.

My doctor didn’t want me to come in until I thought I was at two months and had only one ultra sound when I was six months.

And I didn’t get a print out picture of her! Brittany emailed me this first one and I printed it for my new baby book and labeled it:

“November 12^th. Baby Oops”.

 

 

Dog Sitting

Brittany and Dan weren’t able to see his parents over the Christmas holidays and had planned on visiting them in February. (Dan works most Saturdays so scheduling weekends away is hard.)

In mid January they started planning the trip beginning with what to do with their two dogs. They had had a bad experience with the kennel the last time they left them and Brittany couldn’t find anyone she trusted to come and stay with them.

After talking to John… or maybe I didn’t ask him, I forget…. I called Brittany and said, “It’s far enough out that we don’t have plans yet for that weekend. We can come watch the pups.”

Then we went through all the “Are you sure?” and “You don’t have to!” and “It’s no big deal!” and “It will be fun!” comments.

It really worked out well. John ended up working with one of his sales guys in Charleston that Friday so we were able to get to her house by late afternoon to let Charlie and Ava out in the yard to run a bit before heading downtown for one of my favorite Charleston events, the monthly Art Crawl.

Usually the dogs have the run of the house when Brittany and Dan are out, but she was concerned about them running out the front door when we came in, so told us to keep them in the master bedroom whenever we weren’t there and overnight.

The first night everything went smoothly. The next morning when I opened their bedroom door they knocked me over heading to the back door, but turned around, taking a flying leap to lick my face “good morning” before heading out to take care of business.

We were in and out that day, so lots of luring them with treats up to the bedroom. (At least they were getting exercise going back and forth.)

That night however, after cuddling with them on the couch watching a movie we practically had to carry the lab, Ava, upstairs to go to bed. (And she weighs 70 lbs.)

About thirty minutes later I heard her whining. On and on and on. I got up to let them both out again, then tried to get them to go back upstairs. They were having none of that! So I said, “OK, your mom lets you sleep on the sofa during the day. You can just stay down here for the night.” I pointed to it and they walked over, turned to look at me with cocked heads and I said, “Lay down.”

Without waiting to see if they did or not (and pretty sure they didn’t) I turned off the light and started upstairs. As I got to the guestroom where I assumed John had been sleeping through all this, I heard him say, “Why are you licking my face?”

I turned on the light and somehow Ava had gotten by me on the dark steps and jumped on top of John and was licking him for all she was worth. I felt something at my ankle and of course little shadow Charlie had followed.

So I caved. I told them they could sleep on the bed with us, but AT THE BOTTOM!

Then I turned off the light, got under the covers, felt Charlie settle at my feet and Ava lay full across my body.

And I at least didn’t move for the rest of the night!

 

 

Visiting the Newlyweds

A few weeks after their wedding John and I took all the wedding presents down to Brittany and Dan’s in Charleston. Since they had left from our house for their honeymoon and went straight home afterwards our car was packed to the gills!

While we were there the newlyweds had a Pig Pickin so they could use some of their new stuff and we could visit with their friends. We had stayed with them quite a bit before the wedding, but this seemed like a new beginning. From here on we were in-laws and of course we wanted our new son-in-law to want us to visit as much as our daughter did.    

(Or at the very least not mind too much!) At the end I was pleased with how smooth the trip went.

A month later we went back for Christmas. When we stay with them we like to take them out to eat one night. This time we picked a restaurant downtown that we had tried once before and really liked. We also decided to go on Christmas Eve and Brittany would cook the Christmas Day dinner.

Again, everything went smoothly. Dinner was delicious, atmosphere delightful: we were having a terrific “first Christmas Eve” as a new family…until about 10:30 when we walked out of the restaurant and into the parking lot next door.

It was empty!

For a brief minute we wondered where we had parked. Then we all realized at the same moment we HAD parked there and the car was gone! In disbelief we walked around the empty lot thinking that the car would mysteriously reappear. No such luck. A sign was discovered instead at the very back of the lot which said “Private Parking” along with a phone number for the Tow Truck company!

After calling the Tow company to find out where they were we managed to get a cab and drive to North Charleston. $130.00 plus cab fare later we were in our car.

Brittany was feeling partially responsible because they go to that restaurant all the time and apparently have parked there before with no incident. I overheard her whisper to Dan in the taxi, asking if he had any money. But I told her it wasn’t her fault and to forget that.

Once in the car I realized this could either ruin Christmas or I could do something about it. So I mentioned a few times in the past we had left our car in questionable spots in various cities and then worried it would be towed the whole time we were gone until, relieved, I saw it again.

Then John mentioned something he had “gotten away with” in the past. Then Brittany. Finally I said, “Karma sucks!” And we all laughed.

While we all learned a lesson to always check carefully where we are leaving the car (especially in Charleston!) we also have a family memory that could have ended on a sour note, but didn’t.

I was also reminded that it is in my power to change my attitude and that makes all the difference in the world!

Maybe having a son-in-law is going to be a good influence on me!

Closer Then Ever

Well, the wedding is over. I prayed for good weather and got it! I also prayed that Brittany would think it was perfect and she said she did! So I’m happy!

I choose to be happy about it! Not worried that some of my friends might be prophetic.

After my last story where I talked about having over a year to create “the perfect wedding”, two friends called me to say, “Don’t worry about it being perfect. Worry about getting a shower! They each had so many things to do the day their kid got married they didn’t even get to take a shower!

And that almost happened to me! On Thursday, two days before the wedding and the day the bride and her groom were to arrive, John and I were doing yard work. He went inside for a moment to make a work call and noticed that our hot water heater had leaked all over the basement garage floor. The first plumber we called said they wouldn’t be able to get the kind of heater we needed for a replacement and even if they could find one they’d need two guys to put it in and that couldn’t happen before the wedding.

I tried not to think that I really wasn’t going to get a shower on the wedding day as John kept making phone calls. Finally he managed to find one with both the heater and the manpower who could come out Friday morning!

So it ended well, but it was close enough to make me worry about my friends’ other predictions. Each told me that after months of planning the wedding, the kids go off on their honeymoon and the mom goes into depression.

We had some really special moments the day of the wedding. Dan, in a little room by himself in hiding from the bride, called John, “Mr. John? Do you think you could come help me get my tux on?” And then John couldn’t leave him by himself after that. He felt the need to support his new son-in-law.

Then Brittany started crying as she walked down the aisle. (That didn’t surprise me. The surprise was that John wasn’t crying too!) But as she came up to me, standing and facing her with the rest of the guests, she walked straight into my arms for a hug and I whispered, “Don’t cry”. Just like when she was a little girl.

So I felt like we were closer then ever. But would she still call?

I had to wonder….Brittany had been engaged for 14 months. She has a 30 minute work commute and almost every single day during that time she would call me while she drove home and I started dinner and we’d talk about the wedding. (Along with hundreds of emails and other calls.)

I wondered the whole time we packed up the car with all the wedding decorations that night.

As we pulled into the garage at midnight, John’s cell phone rang. It was Brittany. She wanted to discuss the beautiful day with us. John and I smiled at each other, put the phone on speaker and settled back to enjoy.

The Home Stretch

Brittany’s wedding is two weeks away. If I stopped getting ready for it right now, it would still happen.

It’s tempting.

My sister told me when she heard that it would be a 14 month engagement that I would regret it because I would feel like we had enough time to make it “perfect”.

And while I don’t regret it, I do see what she means.

I thought we were so far ahead since we had picked out all the big stuff a year ago. The venue, the DJ, the florist, the menu, the photographer... We were on top of it! And it’s not like Brittany and I don’t discuss it on the phone everyday. It seemed like everything was going so smoothly, and we'd be able to pat ourselves on the back and more or less coast into the big event.

But some things that I had gotten out of the way early need to be done again. Pressure washing done in the spring, bushes trimmed, trees cut back, even some painting that John did early this summer doesn’t look that fresh. I really need to redo ALL of it in the next two weeks!

And of course all the storms have made it hard to get my yard in shape. Sometimes I’ve wished that I had let her have the wedding in Charleston. I could just pack my suitcase, lock up the house and go party!

We’ve also changed our minds about a lot of things related to the ceremony and reception and have gone 180 degrees in a different direction in some cases. I was putting together time lines for the weekend today and rereading emails Brittany and I have been sending back and forth all year and was surprised by all the changes we’ve made. (Which we wouldn’t have had time for with a four month engagement!) And as the changes were made closer and closer to the event we stopped trying to get the best deal and just did whatever it took to make it happen in time. (And be perfect.)

So my sister was right. There seemed like there was plenty of time to plan the perfect wedding. And because of that I’ll keep on trying until the very last minute.

But I promise you this. On the wedding day I’m locking the door behind me and I’m going to party!

Sometimes technology doesn't take the cake!

My world (like everyone else’s) depends on technology. Whether I want it to or not.

I was talking to John on the phone the other day when I heard a beep over the line. I asked him if someone was trying to call in and he said no he just got a news alert on his phone that a new pope had been elected. 15 minutes later I saw the breaking news flash on my computer home page.

John can also control the stereo in our house remotely which he finds great fun. I was coming into the house one day when suddenly I was surrounded by the music of Andrea Bocelli. John, who was at work, but apparently does sometimes listen to me and knew my schedule, decided to welcome me home with my favorite music playing.

He does that with the air conditioning and heat too. We have thermostats that can also be turned on and off and up and down from anywhere and he knows when I’m going to the gym so he’ll turn the heat down and then turn it back up before I get home. I know this because one time I skipped! And it got cold in the house!

Brittany and I have depended on technology while planning her wedding too. Besides the normal hundreds of phone calls and emails we’ve each sat at our own computers while on the phone combing through the guest list. She’s also taken pictures of decorations she wants incorporated into flower arrangements and emailed them to the florist who can do a mock up that she will send back for Brittany’s approval. The florist herself told me how easy her job is now because the brides all come in with pictures of arrangements they’ve found online.

The DJ was booked and planned all by email as he lives in South Carolina. And like many brides Brittany has a website allowing family and friends to keep up on the plans.

But there was one thing we couldn’t do online or remotely. The cake tasting. Brittany came home last weekend with a list: walk-through where we’ll be having the rehearsal dinner, meet with the event planner at the ceremony venue to go over that menu, look at my veil to see if we could have it remade for her and dozens of other loose ends. All of which we could have done with pictures and emails. But not the tasting.

We were told to allow an hour and a half for the event. The lady was as sweet as her cakes and it didn’t take us nearly that long to choose a cake that Brittany loved. It was fun to do this “live”! The woman even said not to worry about saving the top of the cake for their first anniversary. As remaking it would be her gift to the bride and groom!

Now that was icing on the cake and something technology will never be able to do!

Brittany gets a Grown-up Car

Brittany called recently saying she was going to sell her car because she couldn’t get both her dogs and their kennels in the car she had.

When Brittany decides on something, she moves fast. Two days later she had bought a Kia Sportage and was in tears. Why? Because the car she sold was a really cute little red sports car.

Cars mean nothing to me. John is a car nut and since we had the summer off between our wedding and his first army assignment we spent two months driving up into the Canadian Rockies and down the west coast to Los Angeles, across Las Vegas, Colorado, etc until we ended up back at my parents in Chicago.

The whole trip he pointed out cars to me. And told me who made them, what year they were, if they weren’t made anymore what car replaced them, etc. (I say etc. because I really don’t know what else he said. Usually within minutes my eyes glazed over and I went to that place in my head where I could think of more fun things.)

Luckily for him (and me) his little girl inherited his love of cars. When we drove down the highway as a family they’d be talking about this car’s wheel rims or that car’s headlights. Brittany knew all the different cars’ names and makers too.

(I, however, STILL try to get in the wrong car in a large parking lot. Because it’s white! Just like mine!)

So I was happy that he had someone besides me to discuss automobiles with. But when Brittany called me crying; I GOT it! I totally knew what was upsetting her.

Before she was born John bought me a black Firebird Trans Am. It was sleek and had a little bit of tasteful gold trim. And it was hot! People turned and watched as I drove by! Really!

Our other car at the time was John’s two-seater convertible. So when he came to pick Brittany and I up at the hospital after she was born and struggled first to get the baby seat in the Firebird’s very cramped back seat and then struggled to get Brittany into it, we both knew we couldn’t do that everyday for the next 4 years.

So we sold my Trans Am. I got a “family car!” And I cried. Suddenly I was a grown up. With a baby. Past the age to turn heads. You could argue that her dogs aren’t her kids. But she would argue they are. And now my daughter has a family car too!

(We won’t even go in to how that makes me feel!)

Sharing the kids for the holidays.

Now that Brittany and Dan are engaged I guess it was inevitable that we’d have to figure holidays out. His parents live on the opposite side of the state and Dan usually only gets a couple days off at a time so it would be tough for them to come to both parents.

We started talking about it before Thanksgiving; a holiday we spend in Chicago with my family. Brittany hasn’t joined us for the past two years due to work and her two dogs, but so far we’ve always spent Christmas together.

Maybe it’s because I was thinking about that that Thanksgiving seemed so sentimental to me this year.

John had business in Louisville and a Chicago suburb the couple days leading up to the holiday so he drove and I tagged along. Checking into the hotel room the first night I saw the laundry/dry cleaning lists hanging in the closet and had a flashback of Brittany playing office at hotel room desks. She’d line up the phone, collect all the little pads of paper and pens and then pretend she was taking orders on the laundry lists and leaving messages for co-workers on the pads.

I also remembered that no matter where we were for Thanksgiving we’d try to be home Saturday night so we could roast our own turkey Sunday (for leftovers), decorate our house and then after dinner give one gift to “kick off the season”. (Usually something we could use during the holidays.)

At my sister’s house I saw Brittany running around as a little girl in my niece, Madison. My mom had Christmas ornaments with Brittany’s name on them. When Brit was little and I was working full time we’d send her to see my mom and sisters for two weeks in the summer. The first time she flew by herself at age seven I was still standing staring at the jet way she had walked down when the pilot opened his window and lifted her part way out to wave to us. I hadn’t cried up to that point, but then I couldn’t stop! It didn’t get any easier over the summers sending her off, but I loved that she grew up knowing my family on her own; not just when I was there. She has a wonderful relationship with all of them.

When we got home we discussed Christmas again. Brittany offered to come see us and have Dan go see his folks. But this is their engagement year and I would never want to do that. Instead John and I offered to drive to Charleston a few days before and come home Christmas Eve morning when they’ll drive to Dan’s folks.

I’m convinced that we’ll try a few things that will work and others that won’t, but we’ll eventually look back at these next few years as fondly as we do the past ones.

And what more can one hope for the holidays?

And the Wedding Plans Begin

When Brittany got engaged and said they had decided on an October 2013 wedding, I thought we would start talking about it in November or December.

Silly me.

The emails and phone calls have been flying. Venue ideas, food ideas, bridesmaid dresses, rehearsal dinner, did I like this photographer’s website?

They’ve even already registered at Belk because the store was having a Bridal fair the week after they got engaged. Brittany was a little disappointed that Dan didn’t enjoy walking around the store picking out things they might like for their house so when John and I went to visit them in Charleston over Labor Day weekend I went with her to Williams and Sonoma.

It made me really want to replace all of my own stuff.

We’d be marking a pitcher and I would say, “If you get two of these can I have one?” And Brittany would reply, “We won’t get two, that’s why we register!”

I can see why Dan didn’t have fun.

Then she showed me a spreadsheet on line that tracks wedding guests. You put the odds of them actually coming and it tells you the number you can most likely expect. We sat down with Dan and started making up a guest list. It was way too big even with the percent the spreadsheet promised wouldn’t show up. After a frustrating hour we decided to put it aside until spring when we’ll see if we still like all those people.

Next we looked at Pinterest. Brittany showed me all the boards she’s been putting together of wedding dresses, color schemes, cakes, flowers, etc. etc. From there we would click on other people’s Pinterest sites with all of their wedding ideas. It was quite overwhelming. Brittany says “everyone” gets all of their ideas from Pinterest now. In fact there’s a cartoon where a lady is telling a bride, “I got married before Pinterest.” And the bride looked really sad for her.

Which got me wondering, “will everything we decide on for Brittany’s wedding be judged by everyone who goes onto Pinterest?” Isn’t it hard enough to make sure all the relatives get along and the guests have fun without wondering what all of the world wide web will think after it’s over?

Actually at this point I’m pretty sure if Brittany is happy with her big day (and we live through it) I won’t really care what anyone else thinks.

Somebody Help Me! We’re Having a Wedding!

John and I have known for four and a half months that Dan was going to propose to Brittany. We were visiting them in Charleston last March and while the guys were grilling Dan said:

“Mr. John,” (So Southern!) “Since we’re alone right now I wanted to tell…I mean ask you if it’s ok with you if I ask Brittany to marry me?”

John: “Oh, thank goodness!”

OK, just kidding, what he really said was something like, “Well we just want her to be happy.”

Dan told him he already had her ring, but wanted to wait until the end of summer to ask her because he had a lot going on at work right then, so “mums the word”.

John thought that meant he wasn’t supposed to tell me! (Can you believe that?) But something he said a week later made me ask if they had had that conversation and John admitted they had. So then it became my burden not to say anything to Brittany about it either.

To make it a little easier I told a few close friends and family members.

Alright, and some random people on the street….

I spent the summer bouncing back and forth between hoping his proposal would live up to her dreams and also worrying about the upcoming wedding to plan.

Tonight Brittany called and said that Dan had bought their two dogs new collars and had them stationed at the door when she came home from work. One collar said “Will you marry” and the other “Dat Daddy”. Dan was on his knees by the couch.

What he hadn’t taken into account was the phone conversation they had while she was driving home. She had missed lunch and wanted to meet him at a restaurant. He of course couldn’t tell her why he wanted her to come home first or that he already had reservations at Cypress in downtown Charleston.

So what happened was; Brittany walked by the dogs without seeing the collars, thought Dan was looking for something under the couch, but since she was mad wasn’t going to ask him what he had lost, and went into the kitchen.

Luckily he got her to see the collars, got the ring on her finger and got her to the Cypress, which led to dozens of phone calls and hundreds of Facebook messages. The proposal lived up to her dreams!

Now all I have to worry about is planning the wedding!

All's well that end's well

Some day I’m going to teach both Brittany and John to start a phone conversation with, “Everything’s ok” before some breathless tale that sounds like it’s going to end with; 1. they’ve been in an accident 2. they’ve been robbed or 3. someone died.

Late last Friday night Brittany called saying something (really fast) about driving in a lot of traffic in a storm and seeing a dog running between four lanes of cars and how she swerved across all the lanes to park on the side of the road so she could run out into the traffic and save the dog. (I wasn’t listening too well because I was waiting for the punch line.)

It turns out she scooped up this 1 year old pit bull/boxer mix and put her in her car. That in itself wasn’t too much of a problem, but Dan was getting off work at 10 pm and they were going to drive to his parents’ house in Washington, NC about 5 hours away for the weekend. Their two dogs were already kenneled and the kennel was closed for the night.

She took the dog to an all night vet to see if it had a micro chip, which it didn’t.

Then she ended up taking the dog, who she named Friday because it was Friday the 13^th   of course, to one of Dan’s employee’s house; a college age boy home for the summer. He would keep the dog overnight and take her to Pet Helpers in the morning.

That should have been the end of it, but Pet Helpers, a no kill shelter, will only take in animals for a $200.00 donation.

Brittany spent a large part of her weekend calling other shelters and getting pictures of the dog from this friend so she could put notices on Craigslist and Facebook; either to find the owner or someone who could take in this “sweet, cuddly, friendly dog”. (Her words.)

In fact I was getting worried that inspite of having two dogs already she and Dan were going to keep Friday. Especially when she told me that Dan would pick up Friday after work Monday and take her to the vet to make sure she didn’t have anything wrong with her that could be passed on to their dogs.

Monday after work Brittany picked up her pups from the kennel, Dan took Friday to the vet and they all met at home. And it was pandemonium! Ava, their lab DID NOT like Friday! Friday, who turned out to be a jumper, was LEAPING over the couch in single bounds. Brittany was crying because she already loved Friday, but she didn’t want her own dogs to be traumatized. Luckily Dan can stay pretty calm in a crisis.

They took Friday to a dog park near where Brittany had first found her. They asked everyone if they recognized her or wanted her. Finally a man said that he had a friend who wanted a dog; called him, told him the dog was really sweet and had been checked out by the vet and the man agreed to take him!

An hour after they got home the man called Brittany. He said as he was walking Friday from his car up to his friend’s front door, Friday took off and ran three houses down straight into the arms of a man in the yard. Who turned out to be her owner! Friday had jumped the fence Friday night and got lost!

Whew! I guess this is one of those “all’s well that ends well” stories. I do hope though that Brittany will think twice next time before running out in traffic!