Family Ties

It is amazing what can get done in a week. Having never planned a wedding before, and having never planned one in Vegas before, I think I've done pretty good so far. Chapel, Matron of Honour, hotel and flight are booked. I need a restaurant, a dress, and wedding bands. Oh, and shoes. And a marriage license. And probably a number of other things, but I feel like I've got a good start. To be honest, this week has been a bit of a blur. But in a really good way.

My mom seems thrilled that we are getting married! I am really, really, pleasantly surprised by this. You'd think at 40 I wouldn't care (or shouldn't care) what my mom thinks, but I do. The first Christmas that Greg moved in with me, things were so bad with my mom, that we were having a hard time even being civil to each other. My brother ganged up with my mom, and suddenly I was the black sheep of the family. (It's just the three of us) It was so bad, I dragged them all in to councelling. The funny thing was, the therapist immediately decided that my problem was peanuts compared to the co-dependant relationship my mom and brother have. (Ooops! I got off on a tangent there. That's another story.) In the end, therapy helped and obviously, over time, my mom has accepted Greg. And my brother thinks the world of him.

Greg's Dad and Step-mom are also thrilled. We were over there for dinner the other night, had champagne toasts, his dad was talkative and all smiley. Mary-Anne (Step-mom) has actually taken on the roll of wedding planner, and is in her glory. I have her to thank for the recommendation about the Chapel, and for flights and hotel being booked already. (But I made the decision about Matron of Honour!)

The strangest reaction we got was from Greg's mom who we see every weekend in the summer up at the trailer, and with whom I actually get along with very well. Her initial reaction was something like: "What?! Why?! I thought you didn't want to get married?!" When we told her that we were getting married on Nov 11th of this year her reaction was: "What?! Are you kidding?! No one get's married on Nov 11th. Don't you know what day it is?!" I replied: "yes, it's going to be our wedding day!" She said "No...it's Remembrance Day!" (As if I didn't know.) Then, when we told her that we were going to Vegas, her response was "Hmpff. Well I guess that counts me out. I can't afford to go to Vegas" Whereapon (is that a word?!) we told her that we would be paying for her trip, because we wouldn't be doing this if she couldn't be a part of it. Her response "oh." Then she looked at my ring and said "that's nice. I've been married three times and have never had an engagement ring." She hung around a bit and left.
After a while I walked up the road to find her. Every neighbour I passed congratulated me, as she had told everyone on her way back to her place! But. This is how she told people: "I just found out I'm going to Vegas! Ya. Greg and Ramona are getting married" She's a funny woman.
The rest of the weekend was all about her recounting her terrible marriages (one of which lasted two weeks!) Anyway, by the end of it all she got drunk and told me how much she loved me and how happy she was that we were getting married. But it took her a while (and a case of beer) to come to terms with it!
I always say: Greg's mom is like no one else's mom.