what I have been up to

Last week feels like last year (do you ever feel that way?). My husband was best man at a wedding in California on Saturday June 4. He flew out early Thursday morning while I was still at work. I worked 36 hours through (full day Wed, on call all night that night, and a full day Thursday) and flew out Friday AM so that I could be there for the "bridal shower" (actually a get together of all the ladies) Friday night. Our elder son and his girlfriend drove up from Southern California, our younger son, his girlfriend, and his next sister drove down from Oregon, and our youngest was scheduled to catch a very early plane from NH Saturday morning (Prom the night before).
Let me backtrack a bit. The groom from this wedding has been a family friend for over 30 years. He is in age somewhere between me and John, and he is also our youngest child's godfather. He has never been married - has come close a few times but something always came up. His bride was actually his High School sweetheart, who was widowed a few years ago. The wedding invitation featured their Junior Prom picture. So it was pretty important that we go to the wedding, despite my concern about it not being a church wedding.
The actual wedding took place outside, at the end of a short train ride into the countryside near Suisun CA. The reception was at the Western Railway Museum. The logistics were such that everyone involved had to be on the wedding train on time for a 4 PM departure, ride the train to the end of the line (about 20 minutes), have the ceremony, and ride the train back to the museum for the catered buffet reception. We had arranged that our younger son would drive to the Sacramento Airport and pick up the youngest at 2 PM, and hightail it back to the museum in time to catch the train and see the wedding.
0500 Saturday AM, my cell phone rang in the hotel room. I groggily grabbed it, and when I saw that the caller ID was out home phone #, I was suddenly wide awake and full of adrenaline.
"Mom,"she said in tears and sobs," I set 12 alarms and I missed my plane". Me: " I told you to go straight to the airport after prom."
"Well, we didn't do anything after prom and I thought that I could take a nap" with wails and sobs.
Me:" Get dressed, grab your stuff, and go to the airport and I will call you back with more instructions."
I ended up getting her on a flight into Oakland that landed at 4PM, and she then took a BART train almost to the end of the line where her brother picked her up (Left after the vows) and got her back to the reception in time for the last of dinner and cake. Her other (almost 23 y/o)sister who was present caught the bouquet (although not exactly the one the bride was carrying for the actual ceremony - that one had been left behind when the train took off and so she had a makeshift bouquet of extras from the boutonierres).
Got back from the reception in time to spend a half hour in the hot tub at the hotel and sleep. Got up the next morning, went to Mass at a local parish (worth its own post), had brunch with the other kids before they all headed home, and went to Sacramento to do tourist things and have dinner with Erik at his folks house.
to be continued