Today is the day. The big day. The day when my little Ariel becomes Mrs. Prince Eric. And I'm okay.
Okay, I'm still a little stressed. Two hours of sleep night before last and four hours last night have left me...a bit exhilarated, actually! I have a slight headache; a couple of Ibuprofen will take care of that nicely. My eyes are already all puffy and swollen with allergies, anyway. My toe is no longer throbbing, after breaking it on Saturday morning, but my feet are swollen, and my legs have the odd tiny red rash they get when I've been on my feet in the sun. I have no idea what that is. I stand all night long on a concrete floor at work, and my legs are fine; but let me stand or walk in the sunshine for fifteen minutes, and my legs look like they're on fire. No, it's not sunburn; I was wearing long jeans.
Whatever.
The announcement came out in the Ashland City Times. I toyed with the wording; thought about saying that the ceremony would be held on the lawn at the estate of the bride's parents, between the Olympic training grounds and the tennis courts.
I'm fairly certain I remember that, at one time, the young lady next door wanted to be an Olympic tumbler, or whatever they're called. And the tennis court is actually in the back yard of THEIR neighbor.
I wisely decided against the hoity-toity pretense.
Somehow, everything came together yesterday. I REALLY had my doubts. I had lists and lists and more lists. Lists telling me what list to consult. Miss Jane came up in the early afternoon and cleaned the house. Ariel and Eric followed soon afterwards with the flowers. WOW! This Flower Lady is a GODSEND! She handpicked hundreds of perfect flowers for the arrangements, corsages, and boutonnieres, DELIVERED them all sorted in buckets, along with asparagus fern for fillers, and even included corsage pins and floral tape. All for $60! Of course, we gave her more than that, but we still got a fantastic bargain.
Ariel, Eric, and I went to Clarksville and picked up the tablecloths and heart-shaped, ivy wrapped arch. Eric had to sit in the backseat of Ariel's car, wedged in between the posts of the disassembled arch, part of it sticking out the window. He did not look comfortable.
Ariel and I put together the floral arrangements that stay at the house, plus the corsages, and it looks like we'll have plenty of flowers left over.
Eric and Fred moved the gas grill and Spooky's little cat house off the deck and set the tiki torches out in the ceremony area. All day rain left the ground nice and soft. But, I am happy to report that today's forecast is PERFECT: 82 degrees and scattered clouds. My friend, Mutter said she sent Pixie Dust our way; that's really the only explanation, because Tennessee in July is normally sunny, hot and humid.
I got everything all boxed up in the basement, labeled, and ready to be loaded into my car and Fred's truck. The pans are set out for the rolls, which will rise all day and be ready to bake this afternoon. I have made the tea, which is steeping and cooling, and waiting to be funneled into emptied two-liter Diet Coke bottles.
I haven't heard yet today from Mama. I do so hope she's feeling better and will be able to come. Sunday, Daddy called and said Mama was so miserable, she would not be able to make it, but when we visited her on Monday, she was feeling better and her shingles rash was beginning to scab over. So, she was hopeful she'd feel like attending today.
Jane is asleep in Ariel's old bedroom. Fred is asleep in our bedroom. Spooky is asleep smack dab in the middle of Charming's old bed, the one I used practically a whole lint roller on yesterday. If Mama comes and stays overnight, I'll have to clean it again.
Everything is quiet and peaceful. Daylight is breaking outside, and the fog is already lifting. We've left the porch lights on the last several nights, to discourage the deer from one last pre-wedding feast on my flowers, and all that rain yesterday could only have done them good.
6:30. I must get up from this recliner, bathe and dress, wake my sleepyheads, pour the tea into the Diet Coke bottles, and make fresh batches for the pitchers to stay here at the house. Ariel and Eric will pick up the key to the Cumberland Room, and we'll stop by Walmart and get the trays I've ordered from the deli. Belle and The Beast will stop by Publix and bring the cake. We'll, hopefully, have everything ready at the reception site in a couple of hours and be back at the house to finish up here. Still have to set out the arch, the chairs, get tables set, bake rolls, make beds, and clean the floors. AND get all dolled up. Maybe we'll even have a few minutes to relax before guests begin arriving.
Fred just awoke and went into the laundry room, from where he hollered back at me, "Why'd you rearrange the laundry room?" Rearrange the laundry room? I was puzzled for only a moment, before I answered. "I didn't rearrange it, I just put the clothes away." I heard him sigh heavily. "Well, where's my underwear?"
"In your underwear drawer, of course," I replied. His voice rose a couple of octaves, as he shouted, "What in the world is it doing in there?"
Oh Fred.
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