Happiest moment??? I have too many to list.
It's amazing how things have changed. In my day, brides did their own hair and make-up with the guidance of their moms. There were no pros involved charging crazy fees to make the bride beautiful. But two weeks before the wedding day, I went with my daughter to her hairdresser for a practice round of her hair "do". That day with my daughter was PRICELESS.
No other words to describe it.
We met in New Jersey the day before and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon with my granddaughters, Erica's adorable nieces.
We stayed at my son's house with Erica's maid of honor (her sister-in-law) and her brother. We shared Chinese take-out and lots of laughs, as those two little munchkins entertained us with their cuteness. The next day my daughter and I went to the hairdresser for the practice round of her hair design for her wedding day.
It was a gorgeous day, the sun was shining with temps in the mid seventies, with a gentle breeze swirling. Erica's hairdresser, Cari, worked out of a tiny house that overlooked "Greenwood Lake". Anyone close to the Northeastern part of the state, knows about this famous lake. Just over the border of the New Jersey/New York state line, sits this very large community of lake lovers.
The paddle boats, pontoons and power boats were out enforce that day. It was already past the middle of September, so for us Northerners , this was a bonus day.
Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the lake that day, I was caught up in the moment with my girl.
But thanks to an internet search, I am able to share some photos.
The following (5) photos are from https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=P%2BQDCb17&id=72A872106953988E9C3E611B9B4DD7979ED4ABD7&th
Believe me when I say "it truly is that beautiful".
Let's get back to one of my fondest memories.
While sitting by the window admiring the view of the lake that afternoon in September, my daughter quietly described to Cari how she wanted her hair done and a song came on the radio. Not just any song, mind you, but the very song that @thebigsweed and I had chosen for his special father daughter dance at her wedding. As I looked at her and listened to the song, I began to cry. I grabbed my phone and slipped out of the room, not wanting my daughter to see my emotions welling up. I recorded the song on my phone with her conversation about her wedding day and hair design included on the sound track.
Priceless
From the very beginning of my daughter's relationship with her future husband, she always told us he was such a "good guy." She bragged about how solid he was, always thoughtful and so laid back, with a terrific family. This was so important to us because we all know you don't just marry one person, you marry the family, at least that's how we thought about it. So when Michael came into her life and we got to really know him, we also fell in love with him.
Both my hubby and I breathed a sigh of relief.
You see, she had dated another guy during college and they had spoken of marriage also. But truth be told, we never really trusted him, we saw a mean streak in him that seemed to lie just beneath the surface. When we asked him about what line of work he was in, he responded with a smirk,
"I am a professional gambler." He thought that was funny, we did NOT.
For the most part, my daughter seemed happy with him. After graduation, they took a trip cross country together and our daughter seemed content. But four years later, my daughter threw in the towel, complaining "they fight too much, he's too controlling". We helped her through that mess, silently thinking, she had dodged a bullet.
Phew!
Now, let's get back to those priceless 48 hours I spent with my daughter in preparation for her wedding.
While sitting on our porch one afternoon in August, a song came on the radio that caught our attention. We had never heard this song before, but the lyrics struck us.
Here are the lyrics:
"Gabby Barrett Lyrics
The Good Ones
He's a phone call to his parents
He's a bible by the bed
He's the t-shirt that I'm wearing
He's a song stuck in my head
He's solid and he's steady
Like the Allegheny runs
He knows just where he's going
And he's proud of where he's from
One of the good ones
He's one of the good ones
A love me like he should one
Like he wrote the book one
The kind you find when you don't even look one
Anybody can be good once
But he's good all the time
He's one of the good ones
And he's all mine
He's one of the good ones
You'll know him when you see him
By the way he looks at me
You'd say he hung the moon
I'd say he hung the galaxy
Nobody does it better
Oh the way he pulls me in
I've known a couple bad ones
But they all led me to him
He's one of the good ones
A love me like he should one
Like he wrote the book one
The kind you find when you don't even look one
Anybody can be good once
But he's good all the time
He's one of the good ones
And he's all mine
He's one of the good ones
We should all find us one
They're out there, minus one
Some of the good ones
Yeah I got a good one
A love me like he should one
Like he wrote the book one
The kind you find when you don't even look
Anybody can be good once
But he's good all the time
He's one of the good ones
And he's all mine
He's one of the good ones
And he's all mine"
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/gabbybarrett/thegoodones.html
I still get goose bumps every time I play that song. It seemed the perfect song to convey to our new son-in-law how we felt about him. He is the perfect match for our precious only daughter. He is a good one.
Instead of telling Erica and Michael the name of the chosen song, we told them it was a secret, but I reassured them they would love it.
The father daughter dance at weddings is usually a song dedicated to the bride, but our song would be dedicated to our new son-in-law. Dad even wrote an introduction that included welcoming Michael, with open arms, to our family. I was surprised Erica's dad was able to get all the words out with just a few pauses to collect himself, emotions were high. Erica's mom, on the other hand, let her tears run down her cheeks and was happy the makeup artist had used the waterproof stuff.
Needless to say, there were more tears of joy all around the room.
Here's a version of the song "The Good Ones" by Gabby Barrett.
It was an emotional 3 plus minutes as the dance turned into a big hug and some beautiful words exchanged between father and daughter.
But, dad did manage a few twirls of the bride at the end of their special song.
It's impossible for me to name "My happiest memory" for this blog of the week.
I have been so blessed!