It is Christmas though I hardly notice. It seems odd to hear Christmas carols piping out of shops when all I can think is “Cannon in D” and similarly matrimonial tunes.
I haven’t realized the enormity of it: my sister is getting married. And hopefully if I haven’t gotten the memo yet it shall hold off till after the ceremony, just so that I don’t break down while holding her bouquet or arranging her train or anything ridiculous like that.
It is funny how different real life is than childhood imaginings. But the good part is that life is even better than I thought it could be. Kathryn and I used to lie in our twin beds designing our perfect weddings, trying to out-do each other with the sumptuousness of our gowns and the cut of our base-ball sized engagement rings. Instead, she has a modest sapphire, a slim tulip of a dress, and is crazily in love with a man almost the exact opposite of her ancient Prince Charming. Still, charming he is and ever shall be in her eyes. For as stated in the wedding program “Love is not Love that alters when it alteration finds…”
I wonder if that is true. If love is really as expansive and mysterious as I once thought at age ten, snuggled into a twin bed with “The Girl of the Limberlost” or “Pride and Prejudice”? It’s not just Disney who promotes unreasonable expectations of romance, but is such Joy truly unreasonable? True, I am a die-hard romantic in every sense of the word, but I choose to believe in love’s endurance when surrounded by Christmas goodwill and the warm glow radiating from an incandescently happy sister.
Huzzah, you’re back on the blog! Happy January, lovely Elen.