Naches

About to begin the recessional

Pray

Dad and Naomi at reception. She had changed into a dancing gown

First dance

Time swept over W-Day like a tidal wave and now it has passed. What has happened and what is left?

Naches: pronounced Nah-kiss and spelled in other ways too as it is a  transliteration from Yiddish. When I gave birth to Shanna, I received many cards from Steve's family hoping that I will have naches. Nachos? Why do they want me to have nachos? What is this naches? It is the pride and joy of ones children and grandchildren. To see your children have happiness and wonder gives you pleasure. This week was full of moments of naches. I will try to recapture a few of these (there were many more) in no particular order. Some of the moments of wonder I will report aren't technically naches but still filled me with happiness.

The front-end loader: Daniel's birthday was last week. He and his brother share a fascination with construction equipment. We bought him a replica of a Caterpillar front-end loader complete with many noisy buttons to press with the back-up beeps, engine noise, flashing lights, etc. Once he clawed through the packaging, he exclaimed excitedly Front-end Loader!!!!! It sounded so precious coming from a two year old's lips.

Hummingbirds: Although I am sure that there are hummingbirds in Massachusetts, the sea coast where they now live on is not where you would find them. Oliver was eating in our kitchen with a clear view of the feeder and flowers and suddenly announced: Hummingbird! He had not seen one before in the flesh, only from pictures. He watched them with pleasure over his stay.

Crinoline, lights and trees: Ms. Maya was the epitome of preciousness in her flower girl dress. While we were in bride's waiting room at the church preparing, she sat down on the floor legs straight in front with the layers of crinoline billowing up. She toyed with them, patting them down and pulling them up. She looked so cute. Alas I was not able to take a picture in time. She had tired herself out walking back and forth in the church hallways before the ceremony so when it was time for her big moment walking down the aisle, she had fallen asleep and was carried instead. She awoke a few hours later in the reception on the couch pictured in yesterday's blog blinking in astonishment. Where was she? So many people! She did not panic. During the wedding night, there were plenty of people who stepped in to entertain her so that Naomi could have a baby tending free wedding. She is so charming and mellow..Later as it darkened outside, the inside lights were dimmed too so all the swirling multicolored minilights on the ceiling came into view. She reached for them  staring fascinated with their motion. At one point, Steve took her outside as he thought the music was too loud for her. She reached for the trees outlined in the quiet moonlight in wonder.

The Bride; my baby: Naomi was stunningly beautiful. She wore her beautiful red hair down in curls topped with a sparkly tiara. She has a model's body: tall, willowy, perfectly proportioned set off well with a designer dress tight fitting until the dropped waist with layers and layers of fluff. We called it the swan princess dress. She insisted on professionally applied make-up which set off her beautiful face perfectly. She  was graceful and during the week leading up to the wedding, was surprisingly calm. How is this child mine? That was my moment of wonder...

The decorations and flowers: Naomi wanted sparkles, lights, crystals and feathers, all things glimmery and prncessy for the wedding. My good friend, one of the Moms, worked hard and long to effect this. She is remarkably talented and many, including the wedding professionals, commented on the beauty. overall effect, artful design. Another Mom spent lots of hours helping her. I am so grateful to them. Naomi was astonished and excited as she saw the room transformed into her  dreamed for fairyland.

The matron of honor: This phrase cracks me up as someone close to the image I see in the mirror comes to mind, not my beautiful young daughter Shanna. But she is married, with children so she is a Maiden No More. We had a moment of panic as her dress no longer seemed to fit just hours before the ceremony. We  waited for Julia to come to help and  the dress fit fine but then Julia's dress no longer seemed to fit too. Other bridesmaids reported similar problems but eventually all overcame the especially difficult zipper. Shanna and Naomi have not always seen eye to eye on many issues. They are so very different. Shanna is not a fan of speaking in public but she came through with a beautiful toast to her bigger, little sister. Although she had little sleep the night before, she helped clean up late into the night getting up especially early to prepare a room for a guest whose hotel reservations we had cancelled thinking that he would not make it.

The wedding grace:  I had not planned for this. It is not that I am ungrateful for blessings that have been bestowed but who do I thank? So many people plus I guess my lucky stars but Don'tae's mom stepped in and gave a beautiful blessing.

The Mother of the Groom/ son dance: They are both graceful dancers. His mom choked back tears of joy on the dance floor with her first child to marry.

Don'tae's family: They hosted the rehearsal BBQ in their backyard the night before. This was no small expense for them. They were very welcoming and open to us and the  soul food was delicious. I met Don'tae's mom not so long ago. At that time she matter of factedly rated her children as to their trustworthiness with the this is just how it is explanation. They are what they are. I guess I shouldn't publicly reveal the ratings as I was taken back though Don'tae was the high scorer. I hadn't before this weekend met another of the high raters but this young man proved to me to be a gem. And they all showed up in time for the wedding rehearsal. Who was late? The Bride.

The dancing: Can white people dance? Well the ones from Seattle can gyrating to the opening Single ladies: put a ring on it. I have a video of this. And Josh and Julia are very graceful too. But Don'tae  is a very skilled dancer as are many in his family. He was a joy to watch. As for me, as a gift to Naomi, I kept my dancing to a minimum.

Maya Tais: With so many non-drinkers attending, I wanted to have a special drink just for them. I made 4 gallons ahead of time that should make 6 gallons of Maya tais once cut with club soda and rum for those over 21. These were a heady mix of pineapple, orange, coconut and grenadine garnished with cherries, limes and oranges. Very colorful. They quickly ran  out. Still plenty of nae-tae-ni mix left though. Come on by and I will set you up.

My family: Flying in from both coasts with some horror stories due to cancelled flights, cancelled car rentals, reroutes, an unplanned overnight in a city even farther from the target, everyone eventually made it in. I feel bad that I had no time to interact as much as I would have wanted. Sadly I do not exhibit much grace under pressure and turned into mother- of- the- bride-zilla the morning of, faced with many hiccups that eventually didn't matter but seemed to at the time. Many pitched in to set up the place early Saturday morning.  After our rehearsal BBQ when  those mosquitoes were becoming increasingly intolerable, we all met at Josh's house and stayed late into the night telling stories. I  fretted that I should be home devising nae-tae-nis and making even more Maya tais but what is more important? And then there is Steve who quietly put up with my graceless venting making numerous errands to pick up stuff I needed and refrained for the most part of reminding me what I should have done better.

Photos: The official ones will come in three weeks. I saw a few of them through the camera. The couple photographs well plus there are some very good ones of Maya. In the meantime, there were friends and family with cameras. Hopefully I will see these soon and post accordingly.

Ms. Maya and Shanna

The Moms with Naomi in her dancing dress