Magic

It was nearly 40 years ago that my wife and I wed. I remember the act of proposing in one moment and in the next having my future mother-in-law straighten my bow tie as I readied to walk down the aisle. I am generally oblivious to life and the space between engagement and I do was no exception.

This weekend our daughter got married. And everything that was lacking in me was overflowing in her and my new son-in-law (this is the first time I have written that phrase to describe him and I could literally feel my breathing change as I tap-tapped the letters). For all the detail I knew or cared nothing about, they sweated each and every atom, particle and possibility.

It was for them a production, a statement of how much they cared not only about each other but about every person who was there not solely as witness but as participant in a joint celebration. This was not mere inauguration of husband and wife but a love in.

When we were young, if we were fortunate enough, we forged unbreakable bonds, the connective tissue the common passions of the heart. For this weekend at a camp in the Adirondacks, those connective tissue were on full display.

These were young men and women returned to their childhood, to the baseball diamond and the basketball court, to the games and the rivalries, to the boasting, the chastising, the glory and the less glorious,  the freedom from the burdens and the obligations,  the days and times lost but not forgotten. To be with the ones they grew up loving and still loved, doing what they most loved. To have the joy of youth and the knowledge of age combined in a single marvelous moment.

There was no distraction, no dissonance, no thunder or lightning to diminish or deprive one of undeniable, unmitigated pleasure. The clouds literally parted, the long awaited spring arriving alongside the guests for the weekend, the sun a constant welcome companion. The cold waters of the lake warmed and embraced its first visitors of the season. The earth and sky played their roles to utter perfection.

And each of those tasked with shepherding the wonder from here to there, did so more than nobly. There was no detail too small, no undertaking too big. Everything in its place, every place shined and polished, ready and waiting to do its thing.

For those who just witnessed the wedding and party Saturday evening, they missed the soul of this undertaking. Yes, my daughter was radiant, the groom beaming, the venue beyond one's imagination, the vows as beautiful as the setting sun over the lake. And the celebration that ensued was loud, raucous, delicious and enthralling. But the greatness in this weekend was not in the centerpiece but everything that surrounded it.

And it was all orchestrated by two whose only true obligation was to exchange rings, share a kiss and walk hand in hand to a wondrous tomorrow. If I had been in charge, and thank God I was not, it would at most have been a decent getaway.

 

Instead, for me, and I believe for all those who absorbed all its brilliance, it was the best weekend of our lives.