Ready to get together for a party and excited to give me what they all had, several of my playgroup pals gathered last night for a bridal shower . . . for me. At first, it was a surprise, both in that they didn't tell me right away and then, when they did, that they wanted to have a party for me. And then it was just strange--registering for presents is so odd. I mean, when do adults really make long lists of what other people should buy them? That's how it's done, though, and so I did it. And after getting over the initial awkardness of telling, very specifically, what I wanted ("needed" really isn't a question after 12 years of household-building. And yes, sometimes it was "we"), I enjoyed it and spent some time trying to pick things that were a). useful, b). fun, and, most importantly, c). not very expensive. And, as the day approached, I tried hard not to look at what was being purchased, tempting as it was. It has been a long time since I have been the guest of honor at a party. A friend hosted a baby shower for me here, but it was more of a casual get-together, about which I had lots of input; my formal fancy baby shower was held for me in absentia because I wasn't allowed to travel. Before that, I'm guessing it was a round of high school graduation parties for me. Twenty years ago. So, when I heard about the shower, I was touched, honored, excited, and yes, admittedly, nervous.
I shouldn't have been. It was great fun, nothing to be nervous about at all (though I had some trouble picking the dress, finally deciding on the dress I wore to our civil union). Everyone there was a friend--we've been through breastfeeding, sleeplessness, all sorts of illnesses and emergencies, more babies, death, school, birthdays, and all sorts of other experiences and milestones together over the last 4ish years so that even if we don't see all of us often we mesh just fine--and it was all very comfortable. Mama Teacher and Miss J (not any of the other Miss Js I've mentioned here, this is Miss J, Social Worker) had gone to lots of trouble to make it all delightful--pretty purple flowers complete wth purple ribbon around the vase, lacy wedding-themed paper goods, and even party games with cute prizes (that the gals were very competitive about winning!). There was bridal gift bingo, wedding ABCs, and even "Project Runway, Toilet Paper Bride edition." Hilarious. (Excepting I was Heidi Klum and had to choose the winning design and wasn't allowed to choose both, so I just choose the one I liked better even though the other was definitely more fashionable).
And the food! Everyone brought appetizers and desserts--spinach-cheese snackballs, pizzas, mozzarella, spinach dip, cheese and crackers, veggies, quiches, brownies, pecan bars, nut bread, cheesecakes (fruit and chocolate). Of course, I asked for a few recipes, which made everyone giggle and give away a secret: they were gathering the recipes for me! I saw some of the little recipe cards being passed surreptiously and my heart was a-twitter: I might keep all my recipes on the computer for ease, but I treasure handwritten cards. Ah, they know me well, recipe hoarder that I am. Mama Teacher has shower hosting down to an art and Miss J was a generous hostess to offer her house (which resulted in a poor little girl who couldn't sleep for hours because of our noise). And all my friends, ready for a party, were lots of fun.
And so sweet. So many gifts, so kind: small crockpot, cast-iron dutch oven, cutting boards, paring knife, gigantic measuring cup, "husband" pillow, cupcake cake pan, meatloaf pan, cookie sheets, picture frame, bedsheets, hotpads, coffee cannister, coffee mugs, towels, candy, jokey ice trays (of dentures! I'm thinking pink lemonade!), birdfeeder. Most of it cooking stuff, no surprise there, so that I'm tempted to host a playgroup and use all of it!
Last but not least, there were cookies, as seen above, gorgeous iced wedding cake cookies, with purple detailing, from a friend who couldn't be there in person but was there in spirit, all the way from Georgia. Thank you, Miss T!
And thank you all, my friends. You have honored us and our marriage in a special way. And I am touched beyond words. Thank you.
