My Uncle Dave moved his family to Minnesota back in the 1990's. My two beloved cousins were moving to Minnesota. As a little kid, the adults couldn't talk about the move in front of me. I was heartbroken along with many other people. Let's fast forward to 2006. I was able to go to Camp Courage because my Uncle Dave, Aunt Sue, Lauren, and Joe lived close to the Camp. We all know how much joy Camp Courage brought me so I won't go into that. I met Keith in 2008 at Camp. We hit it off famously! There was an immediate friendship.
We kept in touch over the years. Last December, I got a call from Keith asking me to go to his wedding. Absolutely! Since last month's post was all about logistics and scheduling, I'll leave that out.
When I got to the church, I noticed the accessible seats were in the very back. At first, I was frustrated because no one wants to sit in the back. As everyone was coming in, I saw every single friend coming in to the celebration. My heart sung when I saw Brian who kicked cancer's butt this past year. Last time I had seen Brian, he was at the Mayo Clinic in a hospital room. Now, we're about to witness a mutual best friend get married. I met his girlfriend, Natalie. If Brian doesn't marry Natalie, he will have had made the biggest mistake of his entire life! Natalie is so perfect for Brian. She ultimately met him because she is an oncology nurse. Brian, marry this one!
Two minutes later, Keith taps me on the shoulder and I gave him the biggest hug. He came out just for me! I felt so special and appreciated. After Keith left, the wedding begun! The priest talked about how Keith and Allison couldn't even imagine meeting each other and how God worked to bring them together. I'm sitting in a church in Minnesota watching my friend from Ireland get married and I am as independent as I could be. It's so unbelievable when you really think about it. As Keith and Allison walked out of the church, he patted my arm which meant the world to me.
During cocktail hour, Keith and Allison both smothered me with attention and being able to have time with my friends that I never see was priceless! Two other friends, Koop and Courtney who had just gotten married the past weekend were with us and they were still on cloud nine so it was absolutely blissful!
Instead of clinking glasses to get Allison and Keith to kiss, you had to go up to them and ring a bell. Brian and I ran up there and totally made the couple kiss! Even though Keith and Allison were the bride and groom, they completely went into camp counselor mode when my wheel got stuck on the tablecloth! Close call! And I didn't run over Allison's dress…it's the little victories, I tell ya!
Natalie ended up feeding me dessert and over our conversation, I realized she had to be the one for Brian. We'll see...
After I came home, Tiffany's little dog passed away. I held her in my arms as she shook with tears. I had an assistant quit. Yep, it's been a difficult month. I've been really struggling because the assistant who quit just didn't show up. All my current assistants are furious and my parents are angry. I'm really struggling with this because I really liked her and wanted her to stick around but all I can do is be thankful for the assistants who have stepped up without question.
After she quit, I said, "I hate having Cerebral Palsy" and found myself feeling depressed. As I write this post, I realize I wouldn't have gone to the wedding if I didn’t have C.P. which brought me to the fact that if I didn't have C.P., I wouldn't have a blog, I wouldn't have a speaking career, I would have a completely different life and I wouldn't want that for a second. Whether you're an assistant, friend, a family member, a fellow parishioner, therapist, or my Uncle Dave who moved his entire family to Minnesota years ago, thank you for bringing so much joy into my life! It's funny how things happen!
Love,
Hannah!
