Welcome to everyone and thank you all for coming to help celebrate the marriage of NLD Girl and Dungeon Master. NLD Girl and I came into each other’s lives at the turn of the century. She was a young only child and I was a devastatingly beautiful 35 year old woman as I’m sure you can tell from how well I’ve aged. Little did NLD Girl know that she was about to be part of a blended family with three younger siblings. However, as I watched her throw ice cream at the ceiling fan one day, I felt pretty sure that she’d adjust relatively well.
It is an interesting thing to come into a mother- daughter relationship that had such an obviously strong bond. Every night before NLD Girl went to bed, she would come to the top of the stairs and say to E “don’t forget” to which E would reply “I won’t.” I assumed for years that it was a sweet shared ritual that had special meaning to the two of them. It seemed magical and I missed it on the nights when NLD Girl was at her dad’s. At one point, I finally asked E what it was all about and what she was supposed to remember and I’ll never forget the four words E said – “I have no idea.”
So, obviously, there was quite a high bar for me to hurdle in becoming part of the parenting army that surrounded NLD Girl. We developed a patter between us, a solid bond built of trust and caring. In fact, NLD Girl would often come to me with a minor ailment or injury and ask me to reassure as to what disease was most likely indicated. She would show me a rash on her arm or a bump on her hand and I would calmly tell her that it was most likely leprosy - she would run right up to bed with tears of what I’m sure to this day were joy. I’m sure those are fond memories for her as they are for me.
NLD Girl met Dungeon Master several years ago and we thought he was going to be yet another one of the bearded sci-fi types she seemed so fond of. Boy, were we wrong, he also wore glasses. We noticed right away that this was something special and different. So, in preparation for today, it was really important to me that I find the right thing to say or do. I’d considered doing an interpretive river dance – but come on, that would have really upstaged the bride and groom. I tried to come up with a song to express my thoughts or a poem my innermost feelings – but to no avail. Instead, I turned to my father’s favorite poet, Ogden Nash. For those of you not familiar with his work, he is responsible for some of the romantic literary gems of our lifetimes. For example, one of his odes to love goes like this: Fleas – Adam had’m. Or better yet, the Termite. Some primal termite knocked on wood, and tasted it and found it good. And that is why your cousin May fell through the parlor floor today.
Those did not really seem to do the trick but I finally found one that would work:
To keep your marriage brimming,
With love in the loving cup
Whenever you’re wrong, admit it;
Whenever you’re right, shut up.
Seriously though, I did find a quote elsewhere that speaks perfectly to today. The universe only pretends to be made of matter. Secretly, it is made of love. Today, this is your universe and it is made entirely of love. We as a group, as a huge new family, have come together today to show our love for, and celebrate the love of NLD Girl and Dungeon Master. This room is full of love for the two of you who are not only husband and wife, but also best friends. Elie Wiesel said that friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. How wonderful that the two of you have both. Hopefully as you walk your path together, you'll remember a balance of the trivia and vital that makes up a good marriage, and forget the occasional misstep, because in the end, it's all trivial as long as you have each other. On behalf of my family, I just want to welcome Dungeon Master to the family, we are so very happy for both of you.
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