Wedding weather, archery fun, and a robot at the store (7 Quick Takes)

~1~

More than a week ago, we were getting ready for our nephew’s wedding. It was scheduled to be held outside on a beach on Maryland’s Eastern Shore with a forecast predicting a 100% chance of rain.

I was very excited about the wedding, but I was not very optimistic about the weather.

We packed jackets and umbrellas and drove across the Bay Bridge. We turned down a dirt road, and I wondered whether it would rain so hard that we wouldn’t be able to get out. But it all ended up going beautifully.

Yes, it did rain during the outdoor ceremony. I huddled under an umbrella with my boys while my husband held one over his dad—since Poppy’s umbrella broke early on. The vows were short and meaningful, the beach view was lovely, even with the gray sky and the steady rainfall. After the ceremony, the rain stopped for most of the rest of the day, which was an extraordinary gift.

I had put the Blessed Mother statue in our window for a few days prior, asking Mary to put in a word or two for this wonderful couple. I had also asked St. Therese in a novena leading up to her feast day.

I also wore my late mother-in-law’s raincoat to the wedding, which my father-in-law gave to me after she passed away in 2020. I knew how much she would be on our minds that day. And she was. I have a feeling she interceded for her grandson and his wife. She loves them so much.

~2~

The wedding was beautiful, and we had a great time. We were even able to play outdoor games—ladder ball and horseshoes and corn hole—which had seemed impossible heading into the weekend. I understand now why society has left horseshoes behind for corn hole.

As these large metal horseshoes went winging through the air, I found myself calculating how long it would take to drive to get medical care for someone who got hit.

Naturally, everyone did just fine and had a blast. I think it might be time to invest in a ladder ball set.

~3~

Unless I’m forgetting one, I believe my children have only been to one other wedding in their lives—and that was my sister Treasa and brother-in-law George’s. Our boys were 2 and 5 at the time, so that was many, many years ago. We didn’t even bring the toddler to the actual wedding part, just the reception.

In all our conversations leading up to this wedding, I forgot that my children had no real context for what a wedding is—how long it lasts and how many people there you will know and how many people you’ve never seen in your life (and will probably never see again). I also forgot that, thanks to Covid, they really haven’t been to many social gatherings beyond friends’ parties or small family outings.

Now they’re set, though, and they are ready for any and all future weddings.

~4~

Thanks to his high school dress code, our older son now wears a button-down shirt, tie, and blazer every day. This summer, I just bought ties that looked nice and were relatively inexpensive. Now, he’s starting to take an interest in what he’s wearing, and he asked if he could get a tie clip and a bowtie that he can tie himself.

We found a bowtie on Etsy, and it arrived this week. He spent a while teaching himself how to tie it before he wore it to school. It looked so good.

We went shopping for tie clips, and a few stores gave us funny looks. We ended up in a high-end store, and we found plenty of tie clips. They were $50 and $60. Yikes. The salesman must have seen my face because he immediately pulled one out of the case that was on sale for $1.97.

Sold.

~5~

A friend invited us to try archery lessons with her children, and we signed the boys up to try a six-week course at Vingt Neuf Bowmen in Perry Hall. My friend had warned me that the lessons fill up within minutes, so when registration opened, I logged on and kept hitting refresh refresh refresh.

I was thinking this must be how people feel when buying coveted concert tickets, and then I remembered what it actually felt like—trying to get an appointment for a Covid vaccine when they were first available to the general public.

~6~

Our boys’ first archery lesson was this weekend, and it was so much fun. The coaches were the kindest, gentlest people. It was indoors. There was coffee available for $1 on a little cart off to the side.

Finally, I think we have found a sport I can be on board with—it’s climate-controlled, there’s no yelling, and they have coffee on hand.

Also, it was fun to see our sons trying something new—and enjoy it. And it was close to Ikea, so we stopped to buy frozen meatballs on the way home. Victory is ours.

~7~

One of our regular grocery stores has a robot that checks the inventory. I think it’s a little creepy when it sneaks up on you, but it’s also cool.

It blows my mind a little bit that I live in a world where there are robots roaming the earth—or the grocery store.

I still don’t understand how a fax machine works, so this is really incredible to me.

Please don’t try to explain it to me and take all the magic away.

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