Esprit de l'escalier

Loreanne’s wedding was wonderful. I don’t think I’ve had that much fun at a wedding since my brother and Heather were married. Loreanne’s wedding was a first in other ways too. I’ve never cried at a wedding before and I used to think it was silly that anyone would…but now I’ve been enlightened and I won’t laugh at anyone for tearing up ever again.
The hardest part was when I ended up making a surprise toast. Two ladies from the “Council of Eight” told me they thought I should make a special dedication out of the wedding present I drew for Loreanne and Jesse. They were right, it was a much better gift once I was able to explain what made it so much more than just a drawing. It was during the dedication that I broke down. I was doing so good too!

So now I’m back in Washington. I miss all my California friends. Kenny I’m bummed that we never got to hang out. Jamie, it was so wonderful to see you, but now I miss you more! Andrea, I’m so glad we were able to spend so much time together and I’m really happy that I finally got to meet Tobian. He really is a sweetheart.
My time at home was also enhanced by the fun I was able to have with my family. I know they were probably putting on happy masks while I was home and just acting like everything was peachy, but I still enjoyed it. It was as though their mask was a reality and I bought into it. Even if things were crazy beneath the surface, it was nice to pretend for a while.

Coming back to Washington, I felt like I was letting out a breath I had been holding for more than a week. Yesterday morning I woke up to a tiny knocking on my door. Lenora was pulling on the door handle and knocking because she wanted to show me her “pinata” (a red checkered picnic table clothe that she had wrapped around her like a toga.) She kept saying, “My sister and I have to wear these pinatas because we were cold this morning. You have to keep wrapping them around you though.” And she would pick up the end of the clothe and throw it over her shoulder like a movie star adjusting the fur shall drapping her shoulders. It was so cute. Then, as I was leaving for work she ran over to the edge of the lawn and said “Hello!” then she proceeded to tell me all about her search for a particular flower called “suckles.” Which actually turned out to be a California Golden Poppy. She gave me one to take with me to work.

A police car followed me to work this morning. It was the same officer that pulled me over earlier this month because my license plate tags had expired. As I was getting out of my car he pulled up and walked over to me with a big smile, “Hey, remember me?” To be honest I didn’t remember him in particular. But I did remember when he and his partner let me off last time. Now that I got a good look at him, I was slightly intimidated. He looked to be about my age and is really tall, probably 6’6. He’s pretty built and I couldn’t help but wonder why he was working a patrol for a few small towns instead of getting his hands into the big city action. I think maybe he’s from an upper class family and mommy and daddy didn’t want their baby working in the dangerous parts of town. Anyways, he went on to say, “I see you bought your new tags so they’re not expired anymore.” That surprised me because I distinctly remember asking my parents for my new tags and having them tell me they didn’t know where they were. So I immidiately thought my dad had found them and put them on while I was busy with something else. But no. The officer had taken the liberty of running my plates through the system again. How kind. Then he changed the subject and asked me how everything was going at work. We had a nice conversation and I was very thankful to the Lord that I have a firmly established, working relationship with the local law enforcement. I’m sure it will come in handy as I will admit, I am prone to speed occationally.