I Do, Times a Few

I think my family's caught wedding fever... and graduation-itis. I got my last single sibling married off this weekend only to learn my oldest nephew is getting married now too. This August. WOW. I remember when he was born. I was only nine. Instead of telling me my oldest sister was going to have a baby, a handful of my siblings informed me she was buying a dog, and I couldn't play with the new puppy until it was older. Not sure why they didn't just tell me the truth. I'm pretty sure I knew where babies came from by that point.

Anyway, I remember when the "puppy" was born, and we all hopped in the car for a four-hour road trip to go meet him. It was worth it. He was adorable. As he got older and learned to talk, he'd say "macaroni" instead of "cheese" whenever there was a camera/video camera around. So, there's this video of him, running around in a diaper, repeatedly yelling "macaroni!" And now that streaking, macaroni-yelling puppy is getting married.

I feel so old.

Ah, but he's not the only one. My niece, who's even younger than him, has been wearing an engagement ring these past few months. No big announcements have been made, but I'm sure a date will be set one of these days. And I'll feel even older. The only embarrassing thing I can remember about her is that she had a very sensitive stomach in her younger years. You could look at this poor girl wrong, and she's vomit all over you. Taking her out to eat was always a dangerous endeavor. I swear that corner booth in Braums will never be the same again. It's a good thing her stomach has toughened up though. Her fiance is quite the hunter and likes to take her along. Imagine how awful it would be to dress out a deer with such a weak constitution.

If you think that's a lot of weddings for one family, listen to how many of my nieces and nephews are graduating this year. I have one niece and two nephews receiving their diplomas from high school in May. And then another niece and nephew will graduate from eighth grade. That's five family members in one year. I'm going to have to take out a loan in order to get all of them graduation cards.

Not that I'm complaining. I love my huge family... even if they do like to remind me how old I'm getting. They just make events like weddings and graduations and holidays fun and fulfilling with their loud, boisterous chaos.