Om May 19, 2024, our second daughter, Naomi got married. Our new son-in-law, Mike, is a wonderful man she met while working at a Mazda dealership in the White Plains area of New York. (They are planning on moving to Maine, which will be another blog some time in the future.) The wedding was a wonderful time that actually started a few days beforehand as the family started to gather together at a beautiful air b and b in the town of Nyack three days ahead of the wedding itself.
EDITORIAL NOTE-
Mike is a black man. (He does not like the phrase African-American as his mother's side of the family came to the US from Grenada, not Africa. His dad's side can not be traced back past a point, which means it probably goes back to the slave trade.) Naomi is a white girl of a combined French-Canadian, Swedish, Irish and German gene pool. It amazes and appals me that, in my lifetime, marriages like this were illegal. By the way, Moses was married to an African woman millenia ago, so God's been fine with it all this time.
NOW BACK TO OUR STORY-
My wife, Sue, and I were the first two to arrive, but Naomi stopped by shortly afterwards with real New York bagels; something very hard to find in our little western Maine town of Bridgton. (Sorry, but grocery chain bagels aren't bagels. They're bread rings.) Later in the evening, Naomi went out to the Newark airport to pick up our youngest girl, Rose, and her boyfriend Temi, who arrived from Houston. Our oldest, Jo, and her husband, Sam, were due in later that night, but their flights kept getting delayed until they arrived the next morning (just in time for a breakfast of New York bagels) Now we were all together, and the laughter was frequent.
One of the best things about our weekend was how unexpectedly relaxing the weekend was for Sue and me. Once everyone had arrived, eaten and laughed at all the same old stories we always relive (and some new ones), Jo and Sam left to reconnect with some college friends, and Naomi took Rose and Temi sightseeing in New York City. Sue and I enjoyed an afternoon in a v ery comfortable house and yard.
Saturday was another morning of talking and joking together as a family. There are few sounds sweeter than a family laughing together, and we did a lot of that. Then it was time for the girls to go to a bachelorette brunch in Jersey City. The girls, dressed to the nines, headed out, which left Sue and me with Sam and Temi. The guys went out to the mall for quite a while, which again forced Sue and me to relax in a beautiful house for a while. Then, when the guys returned, thnigs got busy for us all.
We all prepared to go to the rehearsal dinner at Mike's parents' house. The ladies, running late, planned to meet us there, so Sam, Temi Sue and I arrived first. They live in a quiet, comfortable neighborhood, and Mike was already there manning the grill - he's a true grill master - so the guys' hung out with him. Sue and I began to meet the in-laws and family friends. Mike's dad (also Michael) is a New York sports teams fan, especially, it seems, the Knicks. We talked baseball and basketball for a while, but the best thing he said was that, since the very first time he met Naomi, she was 'the real thing'. He went on to explain 'there's nothing fake about her'. He's got that right. Mike's mom is also a sweetheart, and made us feel very welcome.
When the girls arrived, the rehearsal began. The yard was set up as a facsimile of the venue we'd be in the next day. I must admit, that even just practicing walking her down the aisle brought a few tears to my eyes. But the rehearsal was low key, and soon the party really began. The food was amazing and plentiful, including his mom's 'famous' mac and cheese, which is a mainstay, apparently, at all family functions. After eating too much of everything, then helping clean up, we headed back to our air b and b to get a good night sleep before the big day that was coming.
Sunday the 19th was a beautiful morning, and it stayed that way all day. Since the wedding was in the afternoon, I was able to take some time in the morning to drive across the Governor Cuomo Bridge to see my brothers Jim, Tom and my sister-in-law Judy, who were in town for the wedding and had hotel rooms in Sleepy Hollow, New York. We had an hour or so to catch up on family news. Then it was time to go back across the bridge to dress for the big event. While I was out, our youngest girl, Rose, had been doing Naomi's make-up, and hair. How my beautiful girl could possibly even more gorgeous I do not know, but she was lovely!
Once the rest of the family was dressed up as well (and I must say, I looked great in my purple vest!) we headed out for a round of photographs. Mike's brother-in-law had this whole time organized, and it ran like clockwork. The entire wedding party assembled at a gazebo in Pleasantville, and again, the weather was ideal.
From there we went to the venue, and the guests began to arrive. We met Gigi, Mike's 98 year old grandmother. She is as sharp as someone a third her age, and spoke very highly of Naomi. I'm so proud of our girl, because, even as so many of the in-laws spoke of her sincerity and sweetness, I knew they were right! As we continued to wait at the venue, three of my brother, three sisters-in-law, a niece and our close friends, Gene, Barb and Jennifer Bourque all arrived and we had time to socialize. Of course, Mike's friends and relatives were also arriving, and since it was in his home town, there were a lot more people we didn't know than those we did. But none of that mattered, and the mood was very festive. Of course, the bride was hidden away during all of this, and eventually I was told it was time to join her. Tears again, but sweet, sweet tears of joy.
The great thing about this ceremony was that our oldest daughter, Jona-Lynn, officiated it! She did a beautiful job of including humor, tradition and faith into the wedding, and before we knew it, they were saying "I do", and they were Michael and Naomi Boylan! Then it was time for the party to begin.
Before the meal even started, the wait staff were bringing around amazing hor d'oeuvers such as lamb ka-bobs, sausage, and jalapeno poppers. The open bar was open then as well,. It was another time to catch up with friends and family as well as get to know our new friends and family.
But, as good as the hor d'oeuvers were, the meal was even better. Being the parents of the bride, we were fortunate to sit with Michael's parents, Gigi, and an uncle, who was a real character. Meanwhile, Gigi wanted to know what 'kind' of church we were in. She is a very proud Episcopalian. After dinner, the dancing started. In typical silly Naomi fashion, her choice for the father-daughter dance was the Hokey-Pokey. I'm glad it was silly and not a sappy song; I had already shed enough tears. From that point on, it was a beautiful evening of fellowship, dancing and celebrating this beautiful newly married couple. I love you guys!