Seasons of life - all in one day

A lot went on on Saturday April 26. Well, I guess a lot goes on everyday, but today we saw a lot happen in the lives of those close to us.

Our friends, Brandon and Crystal Barnett, welcomed their son Austin into the world this morning at 7:00. All are doing well. They experienced the very beginning of life.

Other friends of ours, Jeremy and Shelley, attended the funeral of Shelley's grandmother today. Sadly, they experienced the very end of life.

And today, we were able to attend the wedding of my step-cousin, Phil Alexander, to a beautiful woman named Penny. We were able to share in the joy and celebration of the creation of a new family. Phil is the son of my uncle, Harold Alexander, and the last time I met him was at Barb and Harold's wedding some 29 years ago. It was great to see him and all the Alexanders again. At the reception, we were able to sit with one of Penny's sons and meet some of her extended family. We couldn't be happier for Phil and Penny!

But possibly one of my very favorite moments from todays "seasons of life" display was observing my Aunt Barb at the wedding and particularly at the reception. Those of you who know Barb are aware of her health struggles she has faced over the years. I haven't seen her as happy as she was today for a really long time, and it made me so glad to be able to witness it. Jenetta and I almost never bring cameras to weddings so we can enjoy the event and not even think about work and photos. But I wish I had brought one along to capture the scene I observed. A description will have to suffice:

After dinner and before the toasts, someone was playing music over the sound system and "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond came on. (Apparently it's not just for Red Sox games!) Barb got up and started swaying around to the music in the aisle. No one else was dancing - there really wasn't any room. It was just Barb enjoying the song by herself. The swaying eventually turned into country line-dancing, which I guess is just fine for Neil Diamond songs! She was really having a great time and people that were walking through the aisle to get another drink or go for seconds on the food had to kind of scoot around her. It was great! She had a grin on her face that brought real joy to my heart.

After the song was over, I told her how happy I was for her, and we had a nice hug. She explained that she only knows one country line dance move, but when the beat is right, she has to go for it and dance away. Good for you Barb!