Roll up the floor

When I stopped at my parents’ house on Friday evening, I was greeted by Red-haired Sister’s four dogs. I got past the frenzy of barking, but I could barely walk through the house because it was so filled with flowers: vases of them on every surface, extra tubs of cut flowers on the floor. Red-haired Sister was working furiously, cutting stems, forming bouquets, piecing together boutonnieres.

Schoolteacher Niece, the oldest of the grandchildren, was getting married! Out-of-town family sent text messages as they traveled to the big event. Red-haired Niece, who had done an awful lot of the planning, raced around to make sure all the nice touches she had planned were in place. We all checked the weather forecast, since the ceremony was outdoors, a risky venture in this region.

We’re a family who usually gathers at my parents’ camp, where bathing suits and old t-shirts are the preferred attire. So it was fun to see everyone dressed up. My sons wore suits for the first time, and my kids cooperated in posing for dozens of photos.

The sun shone, the ceremony went beautifully, and soon the party was in full swing. We ate, we talked, we danced. Pretty much everyone in my family loves to dance, so once the formal dances were over, the dance floor was crowded for the rest of the night. It was a great way to end the summer.



The father/daughter dance: Schoolteacher Niece with Blond Brother-in-law.