Here’s my first picture of my belly (9 weeks 4 days). I show early!

***We interrupt this regularly scheduled Blog for a Breaking Story! Stay tuned to “An Angel’s Island” for all updates as they become available. We will return to your regularly scheduled Blog… sometime in the spring, perhaps.***

Monday night, August 27, 2007 is a night I will have etched in my mind for the rest of my life. It is the night I found out I was pregnant – for the 4^th time.

I had a sneaking suspicion that something might be up so I went to a pharmacy and picked up a home pregnancy test and planned on doing it later that evening after Mike went to work. Honestly, I thought I was just late. We had a scare a few months ago back and that’s all it was: a scare. I know my body and I know when I ovulate. People think I’m nuts, but I do. Every time we wanted to conceive it happened on the first try. I can tell you to the hour when I am going to ovulate. Makes it pretty easy to “schedule around” considering I stopped taking birth control two years ago when I turned 35.

This is why I knew we were “safe” in celebrating Mike’s 40^th birthday. I was four days away from ovulating. No problems. Later that same day I was suddenly panic-stricken. I had a twinge in my side that I knew all too well. Could it be? No way. I’m as regular as Santa Claus on Christmas Eve – there is no way. I attempted to put the thought out of my mind for the next couple of weeks and actually did quite a good job at it. We were busy camping and enjoying the day trips we’d taken on the weekends as a family.

By Sunday the 26^th it hit me like a ton of bricks. Uh-oh. No visitor yet. This isn’t even funny. I have been pregnant 3 times and I have one child. I don’t have the best track record in the world. My first pregnancy ended in miscarriage at 9 weeks, my second pregnancy gave us our wonderful boy, Matthew and my last pregnancy resulted in my daughter Emily being stillborn. Matthew is going to be 11 years old. Can I even entertain the thought of starting all over again? Panic set in once again.

Well, the only way to know for sure is to go get a test and pee on the stick. I was sick to my stomach. I went to a pharmacy that I never go to hopeful that I wouldn’t run into anyone I knew. I got what I had to get a got out as quick as I could. I even sat in the van and opened the test, tore the box into a million pieces, hid the test in my purse and ditched the evidence in the garbage can in the Drive Thu at Tim Horton’s. I was a mess. I could almost feel the test burning a hole through my purse all afternoon. I messaged Shelley (all4them) and asked her if she’d be around this evening if she could turn MSN on. I didn’t tell her why. I just knew I needed someone there, but not really “there” if you know what I mean, when I looked at that test.

I had planned to wait until Matthew was in bed, but fortunately for me I didn’t have to wait quite that long. He ended up sleeping up at my Mom’s that night so once Mike went to work I was alone. My heart was pounding out of my chest. I made every excuse in the book to procrastinate and not go pee on the damn stick. Finally at about 8:30 or so I did. I took the test and laid it on the table face down and wouldn’t look at it. I signed onto MSN and started talking to Shelley about this and that and nothing in particular. Then I explained to her why I asked her to be online. She was over the moon with excitement…lol and I was scared beyond scared. We talked a bit about the “what-if’s” and my biggest what-if was what-if I am? How can I tell Mike after just turning 40 with an almost 11-year-old son that we’re starting all over again? Can I get through a pregnancy emotionally and mentally after everything we went through 5 years ago? We said that was it. We said we were happy with Matthew. We resigned ourselves to the fact that it was going to be just the three of us and now there is a possibility that we are going to have a baby?????? It was too much. I was freaking out. I had to calm down, I had to get a grip and I had to trust that everything happens for a reason. AND I had to look at the test.

Two lines.

Two lines.

TWO LINES????????????????????

That means positive.

That means ….. I am pregnant.

I start to shake as I type the news to Shelley. She’s so excited! I’m completely dumb-founded. I’m shaking like I have never shook before in my life. This is too much to digest. Our entire worlds are about to change. I’m having a baby!!! (A brief surge of excitement.) Mike. Oh good grief, Mike. What is he going to say? How am I going to tell him? Is he going to be mad? Is he going to be upset? Is he going to be happy? Is he going to tell me everything is going to be okay? Shelley convinced me that I had to go out to the fire station and tell him tonight. By the time he got home in the morning I would be gone to work and this just can’t wait. I called him, told him I was bored and that I was on my way out with a coffee (bells and whistles all went off here, as I have NEVER done that before).

So I get out there and give him his tea and we sit there in the dark watching some stupid 1970’s cop show on TV for a little while. I’m going insane. How am I going to bring this up?

“Sooooooooooooo……I’ve got some goop!”

(”I’ve got some goop???” You’re pregnant and you’re telling your husband and you say “I’ve got some goop”???????)

“Let me guess, you took a home pregnancy test and it’s positive?”

HUH????????????

All I could do was nod my head, yes. He stretched back in his chair, put his hands up to his forehead and laughed like a fool (after he said a little Holy ****). For the longest time we sat there in silence. I was chewing on the edge of my coffee cup and Mike was just stretched back in his chair looking up at the ceiling. I wish he would say something. Anything. Yell, scream, holler, freak out, something…just say something….tell me it’s going to be okay, because that’s really what I need to hear. Finally he breaks the silence by telling me to make a Doctor’s appointment first thing in the morning to go get a “real test” done and that whatever happens, we’ll deal with it together. Well that was better than yelling and screaming I suppose. I left him by himself at the fire station and drove home to be by myself. I think we both just need a little bit of time to let this all sink in.

As the next few days and subsequent weeks passed, the initial shock and disbelief started to wear off and I started to get quite excited about a new baby. I was absolutely terrified about having a miscarriage but we had come to terms with the pregnancy and realized that we have been through a lot as a couple over the last 16 years. There was obviously a reason for this. Our plans are not always THE plans. There was obviously something that we are still meant to go through – be it good or bad. There is a reason for this. I’ve already gone through 2 losses, hopefully now I will get my second chance at happiness – my second child. Surely I did not become pregnant to go through another loss? Unfortunately, only time will tell.

September 10^th while at work I started to experience moderate-severe cramping. There was no bleeding, but I was a basket case. No one at work yet knew that I was expecting and I intended to keep it that way as long as I could. I went home “sick”. I hoped that if I just lied down for a while I would feel better, but as the afternoon went on the cramping stayed pretty much the same. I picked Matthew up at school and dropped him off at Mm’s and headed up to the Emergency Department. After a 4 hour wait I see a doctor who doesn’t even examine me, but says that she would put a requisition for an ultrasound and that I should hear in a couple of days. If I had been bleeding they would have done the ultrasound right there. So now I get to go home and think of all the possible worst-case scenarios that I can conjour up. I stayed home from work the following day and the cramping had gone completely. My abdomen felt as if I had been coughing uncontrollably for days or like I had been vomiting a lot. Almost like pulled muscles – and still no bleeding, which was the best thing!

Wednesday I contacted the hospital to see if the requisition had been looked at. She put me on hold and when she came back she said that I could come in the following day.

So that’s what we did. Other than being an hour and a half behind schedule (and having to empty my bladder and start all over again) things went really well. I had developed a friendship with the radiologist who discovered everything with Emily and I happened to see her walking down the hall while we were waiting. She was thrilled that we were expecting and made sure that I was to tell the technician to go and get her when she was done my ultrasound. That made me feel better. She knew how anxious we were and I knew she would tell me the truth about everything.

Before hubby was able to come into the room the technician did show me the heartbeat! I was almost jumping off the table. So far so good. The radiologist came in and said that everything looked great, and I was right on with my dates that I gave them. The yolk sac was perfect and the next time we would see our little babe. Mike was in by this point and I think for the first time he actually realized, that yes, this is it. We’re having a baby!!

That was two weeks ago and here I stand (or sit) at 9 weeks, 3 days pregnant. I feel like crap more days than I feel good, but my sister is quick to remind me that this is a good thing.

We told Matthew last Saturday which, in turn led to everyone knowing. We explained it to Matthew in a way which may not be too conventional, but knowing our son and how affected he was by the loss of his sister; it was how we felt we had to deal with it.

We told him we were trying to make him a big brother again and that we had a baby growing inside my belly and that we hoped everything would go okay this time. He started to cry. They were good tears, he said. He was genuinely flabbergasted and told me he could feel his heart “bumping”, and he wanted me to feel his chest. His little heart was just a booming! He came over and felt my belly and told me he hopes it is a sister and that “this one survives”. I got filled up myself at this point and told him that I hoped so too.

Once he got himself together we told him that his first job as “Big Brother To Be” was to let the grandparents know. Mike’s Mom is visiting relatives out of province, so on the phone he gets to her. It was too cute. “Nanny, I have something to tell you. Are you sitting down? No Nanny, you have to sit down. Are you sitting yet? Now I don’t want you to be stressed because this is not a bad thing. It’s a good thing. Are you ready? I’m going (he gets all filled up and starts crying again) to be a big brother. Mom’s pregnant!”

We could hear her squeal from the other end of the phone. Of course, she was shocked and concerned but let me tell you; a happier grandmother could not be found.

Now for my parents. Into the car we get and land at Mom and Dad’s only to find Dad NOT home. Well, we can’t very well tell Matthew he has to wait, that would never work, so he goes through the same spiel with my Mom who is sitting at the other end of the kitchen table not knowing whether she should believe him or not. She looks over to me and I nod my head to her that’s he’s telling her the truth and I know she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Once she realized what was going on she too was over the moon and shocked and concerned all at the same time. She said it was about time for another baby in the family…lol. Dad arrived not too long after and the same scenario played out and low and behold, is that a little tear I see in Papa’s eye? Daddy’s Girl is having a baby! Over the next few days Matthew took it upon himself to make sure everyone in the neighbourhood knew and the news started travelling quickly!

Because of my age (I just turned 37) there are some extra tests that I am encouraged to have because I am an “older mother” (good grief). It will require me travelling to the same hospital 4 hours away where I gave birth to Emily. They will be doing blood tests and a high definition ultrasound. We have decided not to have an amniocentesis done. I’m not totally comfortable with it and they can see what needs to be seen by other methods anyway. I have an appointment with my Doctor tomorrow to discuss when this testing will be done. It is recommended between 11 and 14 weeks, so we had best get a move on.

Hopefully, this will be a joyful journey and I look forward to sharing it with you. It’s going to be an interesting one, for sure. Nothing’s ever easy with us, as you’ve seen. This means renovations and starting from absolutely nothing in the “baby stuff” department. Hang on, cuz it only gets better from here, I can feel it!!

Until next time…

I woke up pretty early the day after we were married. I think I was awake by 7:00! I just lied there for a while thinking about everything that had gone on the day before trying to make sure I had the entire day etched in my mind. Thinking back, everything went absolutely perfectly. I don’t think there was anything I would have changed – well ok, maybe there was ONE thing I would have changed, but unfortunately I have no control over Mother Nature; I thought I did, but She showed me She was still boss! My wedding night may not have gone exactly as planned, but what can you do?

Mike was still sound asleep beside me and I tossed and turned trying to wake him up. I got out of bed and looked at the cards our friends had left, had a better look at the lingerie and laughed to myself wondering what on earth they were thinking. Did they honestly expect that I would wear that?? Good grief!

I obviously made enough noise to shake Mike into a state of semi-consciousness as he started stirring. Once he was awake enough to comprehend that I was talking to him I said good morning and apologized for falling asleep on him last night, which is when I found out that he thoroughly enjoyed the bottle of wine that was left in our room for us. He didn’t seem any worse for wear so I figured there was no harm done.

Mike started the coffee while I hopped in the shower and tried to get the 2 tonnes of hairspray out of my hair. We sat, had our coffee, and gabbed about the day before. By the time he was showered and ready I had everything picked up to go. I don’t think it was 9:00 at this point, but I wanted to get home! There were oodles of presents there to open!!! Plus we were heading to Baddeck to spend the night at the Inverary Inn, probably one of the classiest resorts on Cape Breton Island.

It was still raining quite heavily and was just a dreary, yucky day. Arriving back home we notice that there is no sign of life yet. Mom and Dad must have been late getting home. So in we creep and head to our apartment. Holy smokes! The apartment was full of stuff. They had gotten all the gifts taken home, unloaded and set up in our living room. They are all probably not all that long in bed! ~~Sigh~~ I guess we’d be in big trouble if we started opening stuff without the parents, huh?

Mike called his mother and grandmother and of course, woke them up. Geez! I’m worse than a kid at Christmas!

Anyway, within a couple of hours everyone was assembled and we started. It took almost 3 hours to open and go through everything. We were just amazed! Everyone was so generous. What a great way to start!

Once things had settled down Mike’s Mom handed us one final card. It was given to her the day before but she wanted to wait and give it to us when things had calmed down. I opened it and I could not believe my eyes. It was a card from Mike’s father and his wife with a $100 bill inside of it. I wondered if it was really his father’s doing or if his father’s wife did it without his knowledge. It was his father’s doing and his father was outside the church throughout the ceremony down in the back of the parking lot. Wow. I didn’t know whether to tear the money up or take it and spend it with a smile on my face. It was a hard call. Mike said we would keep it, that it was the least he could have given him in the last 23 years.

So, after getting all the gifts opened, and saying our goodbyes, we started off on our honeymoon. Nothing big and extravagant - simply one night at Inverary Inn (probably the most extravagant part) followed by a few days in St. John New Brunswick with my uncle and his family.

The rain was still coming down in buckets, and we had a drive of about 45 minutes to Baddeck. It took a little over an hour to get there. Then we got into our room, changed, and went to supper. It was an incredible meal, and the people were so dignified and high-class. I felt a little out of place until Mike said not to worry about it. For all any of them knew, he was Donald Trump’s nephew. So, we relaxed, and enjoyed our meal.

That evening we made a couple of trips to the store for some munchies for in the room, spent some time in the hot tub, had cognac delivered by room service (my first and last time ever for cognac), and just relaxed from a very busy few days.

The next morning we were meeting Mike’s cousin John at the bus stop outside Baddeck, and giving him a drive back to New Brunswick. He lived in Oromocto, about an hour away from my uncle. John had been Mike’s best man.

We all settled in, and were off for the seven-hour drive to Oromocto. We dropped John off, said a few quick hellos to everyone, and then headed for Darling’s Island, outside of St. John, where my uncle lived.

We spent a few days there with them, shopped and did the tourist thing in St. John, and even drove for two hours one day so Mike could take me (of all things) HORSEBACK riding. We had a ball.

After a couple of days there, we headed back to Oromocto for a couple of days, and then down to Halifax for the Rod Stewart concert. We stayed with another of Mike’s cousin’s while we were in Halifax, and saw Rod perform on Citadel Hill.

The next day, it was back to Sydney, and the start of our “real” life as husband and wife.

Lots more to come, as we explore living together, establishing boundaries, coordinating lifestyles, and finding out exactly what being married was all about.

Until next time…

I think we might be ready. I think I’ve covered everything that I should have before bringing you to our wedding day.

The rehearsal was the Thursday before. It went well. We walked through the ceremony and everyone knew what was going to happen. Even though there was a lot of commotion and people buzzing around everywhere, it went pretty well.

We decided to have a little get-together afterwards at our apartment. Mike and Dad did a great job putting an apartment in the basement of Mom and Dad’s house. We had a kitchen, living room, bedroom, full bath and LOTS of room. It was a big relief when Mom and Dad asked if we wanted to do this as I wasn’t working full time and it could have been tight financially. We talked a lot about respect and privacy and Dad did up a “lease” for us. We were charged rent, just like we would be anywhere. Hopefully, this will only be for a year or so until we get ourselves settled.

The following day was a busy one with last minute errands. A lot of our family started arriving from out of town and I was starting to get so excited! By the end of the day I was wiped! Mike and a bunch of family and friends were gone to the fire hall to decorate. This is where the supper and reception would be held. I arrived to see things going pretty smoothly only to have them kick me out! They told me to go home and relax. So I did! J

I got home to an empty house and ran the tub for the biggest bubble bath I could imagine. I poured a glass of wine and away I went. It was so quiet. I lied there for the longest time just relaxing and getting ready to start my life as a married woman tomorrow. I thought a lot about the last 20 years. I thought of Mom and Dad, I thought of my sister, my family, and my friends. All the good times and all the bad times were going through my mind like a slide show. I thought of my three grandparents who had passed away and wouldn’t be here to share in my special day. I was thankful that my grandfather and Mike’s 2 grandmothers’ would be there. That was special. I thought of Mike’s father and wondered what he must be thinking right now knowing that it was the night before his son was being married. He wasn’t invited to the ceremony. Was he regretful? Did he wish at this point in his life that he had made decisions differently? Who knows?

All of a sudden, I’m snapped back to reality by the sound of people out in our backyard going into our garage. It sounds like they’re breaking in!! That’s where Dad has all the alcohol stored for the wedding so my heart is literally pounding out of my chest at the moment. Do I yell out the window? Do I call the cops? Well, first of all I have to get out of the tub. The bathroom window faces the garage so I get dried off and peak out the window. I see Rubbermaid containers everywhere and hear one of my Dad’s cousin’s laughing and saying that this will be the perfect way to “get Dad back”. What are they up too?? My Dad and his cousin have this on-going battle of the wits. They live 4 hours away from each other and when they get together it’s just like having 2 kids around. They always try to out-do the other with their silliness. So now, here we are the night before the wedding and Dad’s cousin is hauling all of the Christmas decorations out of the garage and decorating the front yard of my parent’s house!! I shook my head and went back about my business. Men - lol! Mind you everyone had quite a chuckle when they got home and saw Santa and the reindeer sitting on the front lawn all lit up.

After I was finished with my bubble bath I did something that I had been thinking about for a long time. I took some paper, sat down with some sappy songs on the stereo and started to write Mom and Dad a letter. There were a lot of things I wanted to say to them and what better time than my last night in their house as a single woman? I wrote and I wrote and as I wrote, that slideshow continued playing in my mind. I talked about things that happened in my childhood. I talked about the terrible time I gave my mother as a teenager, I talked about how fortunate I was to have them as parents and I thanked them for everything. Everything they sacrificed for me, everything they taught me and everything they did for me. It was something that I’m very glad I did. I knew they were happy for me that I found the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, but I also knew they had concerns. I was 20 years old and I was still attending university. I didn’t have a full-time job, we had nothing in savings and here we are getting married. I tried to explain to them that we knew every day wouldn’t be roses and that we weren’t scared of that. I had witnessed them go through many hard times, but one thing they taught me over the course of times was that nothing worth having came easily. If you have problems and hard times you didn’t just walk away from them – that was too easy. You had to work at things and talk and know that tough times don’t last forever and can be conquered if you want it bad enough.

I put the letter in their bedroom, on my Mom’s pillow where I would be sure they would see it. By this time it was getting late and I knew they would be home soon. I went downstairs and climbed into bed. I don’t think my head hit the pillow right and I was asleep. I didn’t hear anyone come in (including my best friend who was my maid of honour who crawled in bed next to me at who knows what time). What a snooze I had.

The following morning I woke at 6AM. It was my wedding day!! I crawled out of bed and put a pot of coffee on. Once that was finished I made a cup and took it out on the deck. It was so quiet, so peaceful. Not another soul was around. What a perfect way to start my day! I sat out there for about an hour and a half and then decided I better get a move on. It was going to get hectic pretty fast! In I went to meet Mom in the kitchen. She was starting to buzz around like a maniac as Mom could. The letter from the night before wasn’t mentioned and to this day neither Mom nor Dad ever said a word about it. I do know they still have it though, because many many years later I was looking for something in her bedroom and in her hutch I found it nicely tucked away. She doesn’t know I saw it, but I couldn’t help but smile. I’d love to read it again. Maybe someday.

My quiet peaceful morning disappeared in a hurry! Before I knew it, Karen (my maid of honour) and I were off to get our hair done, make a last minute stop at the mall and had to be back home in time to get our makeup done. Once that was done it would be just about time for my cousin to show up (she was a bridesmaid along with my sister). When she arrived her blood pressure was through the roof. There were so many people staying at my Aunt’s house that she jumped in the shower long enough to get wet and left. Her hair and makeup still had to be done. No problem. All I had to do was get dressed anyway, so I plugged in the curling iron and away I went. We were hiding down in the apartment tucked away nicely in my bedroom where no one could bother us. It was me, my cousin Linda and Karen. My sister was buzzing around doing her thing upstairs, popping down to check on us every now and again. We had lots of laughs and it was a very special time for me to be able to spend with them.

Finally it was time for me to get dressed (…getting excited now!!) When we walked upstairs the heat hit us like a ton of bricks! It was muggy and hot! I was going to melt! Everyone assured me I would but just fine, but I had my doubts. It was a hot, hot day.

Of course after getting dressed, the cameras started snapping. A good friend of ours took all the pictures. It was great! Mom and Dad weren’t as stressed as I thought they would be during all this, however, our videographer was getting on their nerves…lol

My uncle arrived with the car and said we best get a move on unless we wanted to be late. On our way to the church I was saying that I was hungry and he offered to go through the drive-thu at McDonald’s for me. I really should have taken him up on his offer!

When we got to the church I was in absolute shock. I have never seen that many cars at my church before – ever. There were people standing outside! There wasn’t even standing room left in the church, they said. WHAT??? I know we both have very big families, but good grief, I never ever dreamed in a million years there wouldn’t be enough room in our church.

I guess we’re ready. I can hear my friend playing the organ and another friend of mine started to sing. That was the bridal party’s cue to start. I looked at Dad, took his arm and he looked at me and said, “Are ya ready, kid?” That was it. I started walking into the church and I bawled like a baby. The whole time I was walking down the aisle with my Dad I was crying. I could see Mike down by the altar and I cried and cried. I have no idea why. Dad whispered to me to stop that I was going to get all blotchy just as we reached Mike. With a kiss on the cheek for me and a firm handshake for Mike, my Dad turned and took his seat next to Mom.

I saw nothing and no one when I was entering the church, so I was glad that we were facing everyone for the ceremony. I could finally be nosey and see who was there..lol. I was in shock. Over and above family there was a group of about 15 girls whom I went to high school with; there were people there from the radio station; there were people from the fire department. It was very overwhelming.

The ceremony was pretty typical. It lasted just about an hour. There ended up being a different priest who married us. My priest was officiating at his nephew’s wedding hat same day so an older priest who was a close friend of my dad’s family was gracious enough to officiate. It was nice. His sermon was very fitting and after the ceremony when he introduced us, he ended it by starting the round of applause himself.

Outside the church it seemed like the receiving line would never end. It was really amazing. Once we were able to see everyone we headed out for a quick drive through our community and then we had a few stops to make.

My grandfather ended up not feeling well that day, so we had to stop and see him. We had some pictures taken and he told me how happy he was for me and how proud he was of me. Our next stop was the hospital. The wedding car we were driving belonged to very good friends of our family. I had babysat their two children since they were newborn and now she was in the hospital after having her third child the day before. She was devastated that she was going to miss it, so we had to stop and see her too. We all had a good cry when Mike and I walked in the room. There were good friends of Mike’s grandmother’s, who were also unable to attend due to health reasons, which was another stop. Time was getting on and we knew everyone would be back at the house for pictures.

When we arrived at the house and I stepped out of the car there were about 40 people there cheering and clapping. In the 10 feet that it took me to walk from the car to the house, the unthinkable happened. Mother Nature decided to pay a visit! Impossible! I was on the pill and “thought” I had everything worked out so I wouldn’t see her until after the honeymoon. I whispered my problem to my maid of honour and it’s funny when you’re watching the wedding video, as you can hear her laughing uncontrollably. I’m glad she found it so amusing. I wonder what my husband would think? Understandably, he wasn’t quite as amused! Good grief! What else could we do besides laugh? If we got creamed by a semi going to New Brunswick for our honeymoon our marriage wouldn’t be consummated. How many times did he bring this to my attention??

After the pictures were taken and we spent some time talking with family and friends it was time to head to the supper. Was it ever nice to go to a wedding supper and be the first ones served instead of the last ones! It was a phenomenal meal and 250 people were served in less than 10 minutes. Big bonus points!! There were a few speeches and even Mike’s Mom decided to get up and say a few words, but it was my dad’s speech that will be most remembered from that night.

My Dad has always been a speaker, and a very good one. He never had notes prepared and talked impromptu very well. I couldn’t wait to see what he was going to say. He stood up at the microphone and pulled out a prepared speech. Everyone was floored. He started to read his speech by stating that up to this point, this was the most special speech he had ever given. My Mom would always give him words of wisdom, guidance or warning on what to say and what not to say. This time she gave him free reign. He wasn’t sure if after 22 years of married life she was thinking he could handle it alone or was she saying he BETTER handle it alone, or did she forget about it and now here he is up there giving the speech and she didn’t tell him what to say? He continued to say that he would have no problem standing up there talking about me and my many achievements but he didn’t think that was what he should do that night. What he wanted to do was give a father’s blessing. “God blessed me with Dianne and then He blessed me with two wonderful daughters. Over the years our group of family and friends grew and with love I’m sure Tracey and Mike’s group of family and friends will grow and someday they will be as proud as I am today to stand up in front of their family for an occasion such as this.” He continued stating that he read a quote many years ago and it had stayed with him ever since, and it read, “A son is a son ‘til he takes him a wife, but a daughter’s my daughter, the rest of her life. And so I would like to bless both Tracey and Michael with good luck and much love, always. Thank you.”

That speech will be etched in my mind for the rest of my life. It was beautiful and there was not a dry eye in the hall.

After the supper we had a little bit of time until the reception started and there was one place left where we wanted to go. We had to go back to the place where it all started. So into the radio station we pranced, wedding dress, tuxedo and all. When we got there the 2 announcers were on the air and darn near had a fit when they say us walking in. After the song was over, the announcer in one studio introduced us and talked with a bit on the air about our day. It was really neat.

We arrived at our reception shortly after 9:00pm, had all the traditional dances and then the party started. It was so much fun!! Even now, 16 years later, we’ll run into people who will say that they have been to many wedding receptions over the last 16 years, but none have even come close to ours. I don’t know what made it so special. We had a DJ who played fantastic music, no one sat down for a second and the place was packed from the get-go. When it was almost time for us to leave (and we stayed until the very end), the DJ called us up to the front of the hall (remember he works at the radio station with us as promotions director). We had planned on seeing Rod Stewart while in New Brunswick but for unknown reasons the show had been cancelled. Phil took 2 tickets for the Halifax show out of his pocket and was just wondering if we would be able to alter our travel plans a bit to attend? You bet we could!! I was on top of the world! Those tickets were impossible to get! What a great surprise that was!

After we said our good-byes to everyone we were off to the hotel. It had just started to rain. We arrived to a room filled with flowers, lingerie and wine. Some friends of mine found out where we were staying and decided to “set the mood” for us.

Here’s what happened……

I got a shower, went to bed and fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.

Mike sat on the edge of the bed watching the rain and drank a bottle of wine!!!

He was not amused!

Until next time…