My sister got married on Friday and everything went as well as can be expected in our family. I did the camcorder and tried to keep my hands steady as the important 'i dos' were being said! I just about managed it. Now the happy family are sunning themselves on the Costa del Sol while the rest of us wrap up, our collars lifted against the cold and damp, as Paul Simon would say. At the Mass I read the reading about the two becoming one body and realised how man-serving the relationship described was. But the unity described that is so complete as to be physical is the message that permeates down the ages and remains true and beautiful.
Coming home again I slip back into the role of teenager being shouted up in the morning by my parents, which doesn't grate too much so long as I don't really settle back into the role myself. At these times, bumping my way around a disorganised small room, I am reminded of the independence I struggle to keep to help me maintain a sense of self and purpose. I'm catching up with friends and now that the teaching term is over I can also catch up with my own study.
A lovely story came about last weekend for my brother and our friend. They were out for a day's drive and ended up playing bingo in some hotel in the north! It was nearly over, but they decided to share a book for the sport. My brother made sure he had paid for his half of the book before they began, less the price of the cup of tea which he was kindly providing, and a few games later all of the locals were chagrined to hear them calling check for a 1,000 pound game! They stayed for another game just in case it looked really like a fix, and then off they went to their car as quick as their astonishment would allow them to move. Beginners luck, and I don't expect them to repeat the experience, but in one fell swoop a few debts were made good. As fickle a woman as fate seems to be, this is one time when I like to think of lady luck as shining and lending a small hand. Both my brother and friend appreciated the boost, just previous to our celebratory night at the wedding.