My son got married this past weekend and this string quartet played at their wedding and it was beautiful. The simple act of listening to the melody of the “strings” playing together brought such joy and peace to my heart. And it made me think, when did I stop listening, really listening to the strings? to the music? to the clarinets and the flutes and the piano? I drove home from the wedding (Denver to Grand Junction) by myself in my car and I put on Rodgers and Hammerstein and Andrew Lloyd Weber music and I listened for all the “orchestral” parts to the music and it was beautiful.
I know exactly when I stopped. It was August 15, 2023. I had some news confirmed that day that rocked my world and “stopped” the music. I was literally sick to my stomach for months. I began seeing a therapist. It was finding out that someone that I loved and admired and stood up for in times of adversity was a complete and total fraud and predator. I feel so very naive at times as I tend to always believe that everyone and everything is “good.” But I know that is not true as we have good and evil; God and the devil. Anyways, for 2 years now I’ve felt like I’ve been digging out of this hole. I feel like someone took the volume switch and turned the music way down low to where you could barely hear it. And took all the colors in the world and faded them away and took the light switch and turned the dimmer switch way down. There have been hills and valleys these past two years – good times and sad times. I’ve missed writing, I’ve missed swimming, I’ve missed hiking, I’ve missed listening to the music.
Even as close as two weeks ago, was one of my worst days of my life. My doctors all tell me to put myself first and start taking care of myself. Some would think, that means “diet.” Prioritize your food, Patty. But it is so much more than that. It is all the things I listed in the paragraph above – walking, singing, reading, swimming, listening to music, turning on the light, brightening up the colors.
Then along comes Joseph Donald’s wedding. A four-day complete celebration of this life that Dave and I made. And to celebrate with McKenzie and her family for four days was something to look forward to. I was not sure if I could shake the funk though. However, the support that Dave and I received from both families Deters and Lombardis was incredible. Every one of Dave’s siblings came and every one of my siblings came. I only have 2 cousins on the face of the earth and one hasn’t seen our family for over 40 years and they both came. Many of these family members came over to me and whispered in my ear what I meant to them and why they were here supporting our family. They didn’t know I needed this. This was just what was in their heart and they knew they had to say so before parting ways again. To say my cup is overflowing would be an understatement.
So a very big thank you to my family and to Dave’s family for bringing the “strings” back into my world, for turning up the lights, for showing yourselves in full bright colors and for helping me get my words back to write again. The weekend was an unforgettable time. Both Dave and I felt that way.
We arrived Thursday, August 28th and that evening we went out to dinner with just the Burkes. We went to a place that made all their food from scratch and we felt like royalty from the moment we arrived as the hostess said to me, “Oh, the Burke reservation is upstairs.” So we were upstairs at a long table just us with a dedicated server.
Friday was spent with last minute errands such as picking up tuxes, dropping off centerpieces to the florist, etc. Friday evening we had a Welcome Event at The ViewHouse. Bryan and Linda hosted that event and figured out all the food and drink and secured a separate area for us as there were four events happening there that evening. Dave and I really tried to get around to all the guests and get to know some of the Burke’s family and friends. That evening I had a speech and Linda followed my speech up with a speech of her own and it was beautiful.
Saturday, August 30 we had a wedding rehearsal at the Highlands Ranch Mansion. This is where we first met Father Scott. We really liked him. Ben, Jessica, Megan, and Matt got their first glimpse of the mansion which is just beautiful. It is very Princess Diana like. I kept saying all weekend how different a wedding celebration is when it’s your child getting married. The rehearsal was no different. I did well keeping the tears in and Father Scott’s sense of humor helped as well.
From the Rehearsal we went on to Morning Story for our Rehearsal Brunch. Other than being rather loud inside, the menu and the company were great. I personally had a Mimosa flight and an ice coffee flight. We ordered cinnamon rolls and bacon flights for the table. We enjoyed one another and the good food.
Saturday afternoon, I rested. Dave’s family was arriving and they all got together in the lobby. They called it the Deters’ table. That evening we invited the Lombardi/Deters families to go to Pindustry. It worked out that we could treat our families to this as they had all spent time and money to be with us for multiple nights. We had a fantastic turn out. When we walked in we went upstairs and found 6 tables open and quickly grabbed them. Our server came over and immediately began helping us and each additional person who arrived. We tried to get around to everyone and visit with them and thank them for coming. When I went to my trainer’s wedding (Ryan Teal) his mom had invited us to a welcome event and a good bye brunch and I never forgot how welcome that made me feel. That was what I was going for with these Friday/Saturday night events. We got blessed with a double rainbow that night AND at the end of the evening when we tipped our server and asked if that was enough (25%) (he did a great job), he said with so much gratitude in his heart – I came in and it was dead. There was no one in my section and then you all came in. This is plenty. Thank you sooooo much.
Dave and I debriefed with one another at the end of the night and we just both felt incredibly blessed to be surrounded by those we love and who love us and we were so very thankful that they came all that way to celebrate with us. I think I’ll end the post here and do a separate post for the wedding day. Thank you once again for turning on the light and up the music and bringing the “strings” back into my life.
