Make the Effort

             Hi there! I’m well, how are you? I hope you’re well. I’ve had an eventful month. You can catch up with me on Instagram. I’ve had to fix a lot of electronics which makes for long days. I didn’t feel like writing about it because it was exhausting and desperately lacked humor. I couldn’t even find humor in the multiple situations. Anyway, with it being wedding season, I thought I would provide an excerpt from one of my chapters. It’s about a wedding years ago.

I rolled into a church in Minnesota. It was grand with marble and statues everywhere. I was at Keith’s wedding. Keith was a good friend from camp Courage. I had worn a little black dress. I got there fifteen minutes before the ceremony started. I was sitting and taking in how Allison, the bride, decorated the church when I see Keith in a grey suit and orange bow tie bounding towards me looking as happy as I have ever seen him.

 

“Hi friend!”

“Keith, why did you come out?”

“I saw you. You’re here! You drove six hours to get here. The fact that you are here is amazing!”

“I love you. I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

“I love you too. I am marrying the woman of my dreams today.”

            He had to get back to the front of the church. I love when my friends are happy. I thought about all the things that had to happen in order for me to be in this very spot. Keith found Camp Courage online, my extended family had moved out to Minnesota, and they suggested this place, Keith was a counselor when I was a camper, Keith and I had communicated for seven years over Skype, and he took a few random trips he made to Chicago which all led to this moment. Through my faith journey, I have decided not to believe in coincidences. Everything had been orchestrated by God. I said a little prayer of thanks and the wedding began.

            Allison had on a dress with a keyhole back and capped sleeves. The lace on the dress was stunning. She would not regret this dress ever; it was timeless. When they had their first kiss as husband and wife, Keith was given a step stool because Allison was two feet taller than him. The congregation all laughed at once. They ran down the aisle as a married couple. I was at the very back of the church and Keith squeezed my shoulder. Yeah, this was a lifelong friendship.

            At the reception instead of clinking glasses, you had to go up and ring a bell to get the couple to kiss. I couldn’t get to the table fast enough. I rang the bell, they kissed, and I started to turn around. Brian, another former camp counselor turned friend yelled, “Stop”! I stopped on a dime. The tablecloth got caught in my back wheel. For a split second, Brian, Keith, and Allison all went into “camp counselor mode” and told me exactly what to do. As soon as the moment was over, they instantly went to back to being wedding guests and I hadn’t dragged everything on their table to the floor.

            The night ended with a ton of dancing which I participated into the fullest extent.

            “Hannah, I am so glad you came. It was a long drive and I appreciate you making the trip,” Keith said.

         

       Reader, this summer, make the effort! Make the effort to see people and invest in them. In August, I am going to Minnesota for my annual trip. I’m going to cherish each moment with loved ones.

Carried Into a Church

            Wearing a dress that epitomized a little black dress, I looked at the church. It was completely inaccessible.

Julia, my caregiver said, “Hold on, I’ll be back with strong men.”

I don’t know where you think I’m going to go.

When the strong men came in the form of the groom’s friends, I was grateful because the January cold was not being kind to me. I was freezing!

“OK, we go through the entrance that could not be farther from where we are,” Julia said running down the stairs.

“Of course.”

Once inside, I saw the team of strong men.

They’ll do!

Guys who were friends of the groom walked down fifteen steps. They were in suits and quite aware that the wedding would be another 70 minutes. They were happy to have a distraction. I’m Catholic so I’m used to long weddings.

“Hi, Hannah! We’re happy to help,” one of the guys said.

That guy took the top half of my body; his arms through my arm pits and the other guy had his hands under my knees. The other two guys spotted. 10 years ago, I would have been over the moon to have had these guys carry me. However, at 32 years old, this is substantially less fun, and inaccessibility is a true burden instead of a fun adventure. The family of the bride left a manual wheelchair for me at the top of the steps. I was placed in the unfamiliar wheelchair without my communication device. I was ecstatic about the wedding however if this was my first encounter with a Catholic church, I would not have gone back. Why would I go back to a place where I wasn’t able to be physically comfortable?

Back to the wedding. The bride was my friend, Natalie. She is Julie’s twin. Go back to the November post if you want background on Natalie.

Of course, she looked like she walked off a runway. With a strapless fitted dress complimented by a huge bow in the back, she was the epitome of a stunning bride. After all the tragedy this family has endured, it was glorious to see them all smiling.

At the reception, I mingled with many of the guests. The groom’s mom, for example, knew my physical therapist of fifteen years through their book club. There were a bunch of people who I had that type of connection with.

During the speeches, the three siblings who were unfortunately watching from Heaven were mentioned several times. I had the honor of being mentioned in light of Natalie’s social calendar. She’s friends with everyone and she and I get together on a regular basis. Her dad pulled off the ultimate

At the reception with dad and daughter!

surprise by having two Broadway singers perform “For Good” from the musical Wicked. Not much can make my jaw drop but this did! I was truly gob stopped.  This was a night that Elmhurst would remember for a long time.

 

“Did you have fun tonight?” Natalie asked.

“Yes!”

“Thank you for coming especially with all the stuff at the church.”

“Wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

“Let’s get together after I get back from my honeymoon when we can actually talk.”

“Sounds perfect!”

It did sound perfect. I like when Natalie comes over just to talk. It’s beautiful and our friendship gets stronger every time we spend time together. That is why I go to these big events. It’s a culmination of all the small moments because I wouldn’t get carried into a church for just anybody.