Rites of passage

The summer of busy, crazy, wonderful is waning.  The main event for this year was our son Joshua's wedding.  As in life, he (and his lovely bride, Tori) decided to do things their way.  To say that their nuptials were "outside the box" would be an understatement.  They completely blew up the box!
Now, don't get me wrong.  That's NOT a bad thing.   Many people have beautiful weddings.  They follow the prescribed wedding agenda .  We have attended many, many of these weddings and have enjoyed the beauty and pageantry of each and every one.  That being said, I must admit that Josh & Tori's wedding was so "them".  There was beauty, pageantry and a sword-fight.  Not what you'd normally expect, but if you know these two amazing people, you wouldn't have been surprised.
While Mother Nature had different plans  than they did for the day, everyone rolled with it like seasoned pros.  A little rain was not about to put a damper on this celebration.  Eventually, even Mother Nature decided that she would grant them a boon on their wedding day, and stopped the rain.
Perhaps those raindrops were the tears of joy from loved ones, no longer with us.  Their way of saying "We're watching, we wish you could see our happiness for you.  We love you."
Whatever the reason, the day was beautiful.  Not in the sunshiny way, but in the dreamy, dewy, "soft focus" sort of way.

As a parent, you wish for your children to be happy, whatever or whomever they pursue in life.  The happiness and love that shone in Josh & Tori's eyes on that special day is a testament to their happiness.  And, in the end, that's all a parent could want.

Our wish for them is that they continue to be the team that amazes the world every step of the way.