April pt.1 - The Peak

April had its shares of peaks and valleys. Family wedding was a peak, family death was a definite valley (See pt.2 - The Valley to come soon). But there is humor in every situation if you look hard enough, and luckily Benjamin is a reliable go-to in my search.

Uncle Jeph (no, he is not European) and Aunt Amy II (there is already an Aunt Amy) tied the knot near the beginning of the month and it was a full family affair. Cousins came down from Chicago, not all of them actually made it to the ceremony thanks to alcohol-induced "food poisoning", extended family were dressed in their Sunday best, and Emily helped out by being the florist for the event.

I'm not anti-flower, I am anti-flower arrangements being concocted in my kitchen. There is a nice precedence of botanical designs taking place in my kitchen at 3AM, the after math looking like the end of Little Shop of Horrors. I had declared a cease and desist on Emily's floral endeavors, the one exemption being family. Said exemption was granted. With some pre-pre-planning and help from family the executional beauty of the plan was only eclipsed by Emily's arrangements. Alexander's House of Petals - now officially closed.

What about young Benjamin? Like Frodo and other great ring bearers before him, Benjamin accepted his responsibility and performed as good as any 2 year old could do. First the outfit, have you ever heard of a Shortall? Me neither. It looks like Lederhosen if it were designed by Banana Republic®. And costs about what you think this mythical garment would cost. I'm not denying Benjamin's cute-factor, it just wasn't the baby-tuxedo look I was anticipating. At least if he had a baby-tux we could play dress up and put on fake magic shows. I got nothing for the Shortall, except a Sound of Music tribute number.

The biggest risk you run depending on a 2-year old to do anything, is the total system shutdown where they either cry uncontrollably or freeze like a doe in headlights. Thankfully we avoided both and he played his part splendidly. I did, however, feel like a Falconer calling in his bird of prey. After the Mothers procession, I snuck to the corner of the aisle so Benjamin could see me, and more importantly the tiny little blue bag of fruit snacks in my hand. He saw me and gave a little grin, he got closer and saw the fruit snacks and he sprinted toward me - KA-KAW!

A second later, he saw his cousins coming down the aisle dropping flower petals and that triggered Benjamin to immediately start saying, "Oh no... oh no-oh no-oh no..." The tidiness he inherited from me kicked in and he wanted to pick up the mess that was being made. The fruit snacks satiated him, for the moment, but he went and picked up all of the petals after the ceremony. I think they got their cleaning deposit back thanks to Benjamin.

I thought I was pretty clever with my bag of fruit snacks. Next time, bring TWO bags of fruit snacks. He plowed through the first bag like he was at the movies, so I had to (ahem) escort him out of the ceremony with about

3 minutes left.

The reception was a hit. It was the perfect blend of people actually having fun and doing the usual agenda events. The biggest revelation (not for Emily and I) is that Benjamin is a dancing machine. We goofy dance at home all the time, but he had never seen dozens of people doing the same thing before. His joyful grin looked like your face the first time you saw fireworks explode in the night sky. Happiness from a simple pleasure.

Then he got knocked down by a little girl slam-dancing to "Hey Ya" and I had to (ahem) escort him from the dance floor.

For me, watching Benjamin at the wedding totally made the experience different for me. The typical 30 year old has been to at least 10 weddings ranging from "eh" to "ehmazing." At some point you start to lose your joy and notice the connecting of the ceremonially dots: ceremony, go to reception, eat some cheese, wait for bride and groom, "At Last," they dance, you eat, they eat, "Chicken Dance", cut the cake, half the people leave, bouquet toss, "Let's Get It On," half the people leave, "Celebrate," blow bubbles as they leave, go home, hang up your "good" tie until the next wedding.

But wrangling Benjamin was super-fun. He was constantly excited - cake, dancing, bubbles!!! Having him there with me actually helped me reflect on the love and the journey that his Aunt and Uncle were about to venture. Which of course reminded me of my own adventure with Emily almost 8 years ago. It was a rejuvenating walk down memory lane and made my next hug with Emily super long.

That said, I can only handle one wedding per quarter so please plan in advance. But Benjamin's ring-bearing services are filling up pretty quickly, and he is not cheap.