The Party of a Lifetime

Last September I went to the party of a lifetime.  No, I'm not exaggerating.

On Sunday, September 16th, 2012, my daughter got married and I had my moment as Mother of the Bride. It was truly a day like no other: exhilarating, sacred, and a bit overwhelming.

Weddings can be complicated events. While meant to be a celebration of love and commitment, shared with family and friends, they can sometimes feel like a list of things to be done. And more than just a mere list, but rather a triathlon, a quest, and an exhibition of skill. So many things which must be done right. So many ways to try to be perfect while others are watching.

Well, this moment, right here, is the one that matters most to me. Our wonderful photographer, Kathy Shilling, made sure that this moment happened and was captured--for us.  

A moment, before the mirror, of reflection and love. In that image she caught a relationship: two feisty women who had to grow up together, making their own way. 

I share this moment with you because I'm looking ahead to another party of a lifetime. Okay, maybe I'm wandering into a bit of hyperbole this time. I'm referring to the upcoming hocoblogs party at Union Jack's, on Tuesday, February 26th. Sponsored by Bill Woodock of The 53 and Claire McGill of UK Desperate Housewife, it will offer hocolocal bloggers and their readers a chance to meet, mingle, and hang out for a few hours.

This party has special meaning for me. I'll be coming with the author of HoCoHouseHon. You see the two of us pictured above. We are, to my knowledge, the only mother/daughter bloggers in the hoco. No, we don't wear matching dresses or anything like that. 

We're two feisty women, making our own way.

I have heard some women express the view that their daughter's wedding day was the zenith of their relationship, the high point of motherhood.  Not so for me.What makes me happiest is seeing my daughter grow as a writer, a talent she showed from very early in her life. While she had the gift, she didn't often believe in herself. It's hard to be a parent when you see your child's strengths so clearly while she herself is unsure.

I've loved writing my entire life. My mother shared a love of words with me. I passed it on.  Many's the bedtime that got put off to look up interesting words in the dictionary. I've been blogging since 2011 and recently started a Facebook page for the blog. Alice started her own blog in 2011 and then life and work intervened. Until now.

2012 marked her return to writing and her commitment to life as a writer. Her blog provides me a certain exquisite discomfort as I read pieces that are so much better than anything I could write. Isn't that what we should want? We raise our children to be able to try their wings, to fly out on their own: beautiful, capable, strong.

I hope I'll see you at the party on the 26th. It should be easy to find us--look for the two feisty women.

 

 

hocoblogs@@@