marriage, day 10

 photo courtesy of Peg Heckman, Joe's second cousin

On Saturday, we had a second wedding reception for those in Joe's hometown that couldn't make the trip to Ohio. We walked about, sipping champagne from our Bride & Groom glasses and munching on salad after salad.

In between bites, I met a large portion of Joe's extended family. It was a whirlwind of names, but I managed to keep most of them straight. The name that will stick with me the most: Mary.

Mary's connection to Joe still isn't quite cemented in my mind. I'm not good at drawing the branches of family trees, but I know that a cousin of Joe's mom is a cousin of Mary. I wish I could make her my cousin.

Mary's mother was a member of the French resistance. Making a gloriously romantic story short, since it's not mine to tell, her mother married a soldier, Mary's father, and accompanied him to the States. I can't help but think that God put these two people together, then put Joe & myself together, to make a perfectly complicated tangle of passion for France.

We spent part of the afternoon getting goosebumps while listening to Mary speak about our future home (now only four days into the future): the markets where we must shop daily; the ease of dressing; the relaxed style of life; the freshness of air, food, spirit & love.

She insisted that we be happy. Do not worry. We are young, moving to the country of love. We must be ready: The country will embrace us with their wide-open arms & sweep us into their lifestyle. There are decisions that must be made–the language of our household, the ways we will immerse ourselves in language & culture–but more than that, there is a mindset that must be maintained.

Mary calmed our nerves with her persistence. We must be happy. We must keep in the front of our minds that if we try, they will help us; if we speak, we will learn; if we hold onto each other, our feet may begin to float above the ground (from happiness & increased wine consumption).

Her confidence in us was exactly what we needed after a long day of Paris planning & stressing over our limited budget lines. Mary felt closer than many of my cousins feel to me. So much so that she offered her family to us: her sister in Monts, near Tours, France, as well as a family in Paris. We are not going alone to a continent. We are going to increase our love and extend our family.

We are ready. We are excited.
We are packing frantically.