A Wedding Visit
My niece was married in October in a lovely outdoor ceremony on her new husband's 4th-generation family farm. It was great reason for Buds and me to make a trip to Iowa to see Babs and to see members of the family we hadn't seen for a very long time.
The three sisters, my eldest brother's daughters, were the ones I grew up with. I had so many sleepovers at their house. The eldest and I graduated from high school together, and my youngest memories include them. Plus, they always got Flintstones vitamins, and I thought those were the coolest.
To see them with their beautiful families...it healed and filled my heart in so many ways.
Buds and I flew out on Friday, and we were flying home very early on Sunday morning, so we didn't see too many people that weren't at the wedding. I am grateful that all our flights were on time and with no snags. And of the 4 flights, we sat together on 3 of them.
Buds did get asked on the flight from Charlotte to Des Moines, as he sat between two Iowa women, "What's your team? University of Iowa or Iowa State." He managed to appease them both, though he did realize afterward he should have trotted out his knowledge of the Iowa State wrestling legend Cael Sanderson, and that would have delighted them both.
We landed early enough to scoop Mom up and head out to eat at the local "Cool Basil" restaurant we enjoy.
Saturday morning we woke up bright and early for a walk in the dark to Hy-Vee for a Starbucks coffee. Then we drove up to Des Moines for a couple hours at the Farmer's Market.
It was chilly, but a perfect morning to be out walking around. Great food, so many dogs, and so much fun to be out together.
Des Moines is this glorious mix of people of all ages and backgrounds. We saw food being served from so many different countries. It was a delight.
The wedding was over an hour away, so we headed out for the drive through small town Iowa to Chad's family farm.
It was a beautiful setting, and we arrived early enough to catch up a little before the ceremony began.
There was a break after the ceremony before the reception began, so we ran into town so Buds could see the bank-turned-bookstore the kids and I visited many years ago and the cafe next door to it.
After that little respite, we headed back for some more visiting and hanging out.
Since the festivities were in a field, it was a little bumpy for moving Mom around in the wheelchair. She and Buddie were game for a little off-roadin'.
It wa so good to see all these beloved faces. (Except that guy in the back. I do not know who that is. Someone from the other family, I assume/hope.)
On the way home from the wedding we stopped to see Dad's sister and brother who now live together so they can watch out for each other as they age.
Aunt Kathy has been one of my favorites since childhood, and seeing Uncle Bill was like stepping into a conversation with Dad. So many of the same mannerisms and speech patterns. It was a real treat to get time with them.
Buds and I were up and out early to the airport for our two-flight hop back to Rochester.
It was great to see the family we got to see, and it was a joy to find ourselves at home again.
