Happily Ever Afters

Kelly Belly got married to her hunky Russian a few days ago. It was a happy day of wedding festivities, tired children, and delicious food.

I feel like it should be strange for my younger sister to be married. She and I have always been a pair. Now she's paired with someone else. It doesn't feel strange. It feels just right.

I had the dubious distinction of getting five children ranging from the ages of 1 to 6 to the temple in time for pictures. There was babysitting help waiting for me at the temple, but I had to get them there first. It took three car seats, two booster seats, and about twelve minutes to get them situated in the car. I am proud to say they all arrived at the temple happy with each other and happy with me. My oldest nephew Graham was the biggest helper. I don't know if I could have done it without him. I took all the little people out of the car one at a time, putting the two smallest girls (about 18 months old each) on either side of Graham, holding tight to his hands. The other two girls, one at a time, climbed out of the car and joined the line. After grabbing a purse full of books, coloring implements, diapers, wipes, and snacks, I snagged one end of the line and we made our slow way up to the temple entrance. Nearly everybody we passed just about died at the adorableness of five tiny people all in a row, discussing the benefits of holding hands and walking slowly to make sure nobody got lost or hurt.

As much as I loved seeing how happy my sister was, my favorite wedding moments were those spent with my nephews and nieces. Like when I danced with my nephew at the end of the reception when everybody else was dancing with their sweethearts. He developed a system for our dancing by which we could maintain evenness; a child after my own ordered heart. Or when my niece that is just learning to crawl and I chilled together on the floor in a corner while I ate some bread and salad for dinner. Or when my other little niece was going crazy because there were four balloons stuck on the reception hall ceiling. She wanted them. Bad.

I am a notorious shoe ditcher. I love my shoes, but mostly I love them not on my feet. I ditched my shoes near the beginning of the reception and didn't put them on again til the end. Mostly I didn't realize I spent most of my time there barefoot. I wonder how many others noticed.

I tried each of the five desserts. The chocolate pie was my least favorite, the key lime pie came next. The best was the mousse shot, with the cheesecake and the creme brulee as close seconds. My brother-in-law disagreed. He was glad he ate the chocolate pie.

I can't tell you the number of people that told me it was my turn to get married next. Oodles. People told me the same thing nearly five years ago when my oldest brother got married. Marriage isn't about turns. It's about somebody you want to spend the rest of forever with.

It's not their fault. They just love me and have hope for me.

I've spent the last nine months fielding questions about how I'm affected by my little sister's marriage. Apparently I'm supposed to be sad or bitter, upset in some way or another. It didn't make any sense to me. She's my sister. My younger sister. I've spent my life watching our for her. Her happiness is more precious to me than my own.

As I was driving home from the the reception, I pondered on why others find a younger sister getting married before an older sister upsetting. Why am I supposed to be upset? This is my theory. It's a matter of timelines. Like the game of life. You hit certain squares and you stop there until you either get yourself a spouse or a career or a house. It only takes a single turn. Once you've accomplished your purpose there, you move on. Meeting these timeline milestones in real life is a measure of your life success. Having a younger sibling (by nearly four years) hit those milestones before you shows that your timeline is off somehow. Something is not right and it is probably you.

I've spent my entire life doing things my way on my own timeline. I'm not much bothered by when others think things should happen in my life. Kelly Belly being married before I am means nothing except that when I take trips to foreign places I need to bring back a gift for her hubby, too, and that I'm going to have gads more nieces and nephews.

That being said, marriage is definitely on my timeline. I'll get to it when it's right for me. Until then, there is nothing I would rather do than celebrate my siblings' happily ever afters and am not bothered one bit by showing up as just me instead of as an us.