Summertime!

Although it's not officially summer until later this month, if you're a teacher - or a parent for that matter - then summer has begun!

We kicked ours off with a wedding here at the B&B, a local couple who honored us by choosing our venue when they could have gone most anyplace else! What made this weekend extra special is that I taught both of the bride's children - I definitely had a vested interest!

All week beforehand we kept an eye on the weather radar; rain and - more specifically storms - were almost a sure thing. I tried to stay calm, but, really, all I could think was " I wish we had the event center already built!"

Like everything else, it does no good to "wish." What will be will be. Or, as Mike likes to say, "it is what it is." Laying in bed a couple of nights before the big event, I whispered, "Are you nervous?"

As usual, he was as calm as ever. "Babe, we can't control the weather. Why be nervous?" Why are men so level-headed and calm-spirited when it is perfectly clear that things are headed to doom on a one way track from nowhere?

Beats me.

But - I had to admit he was right. We stayed the course; mowed the lawn, set up the arch, readied the cabin and bunkhouse, and - finally - welcomed the happy couple and their family and friends as they arrived to set up for the big weekend.

They had a great band of people on hand to help; it's always so impressive to me to sit back and watch as a major event comes together and becomes the event it was meant to be. Bree decorated the arch, Kelly arranged flowers, Connor and Dillon delivered stumps, carried tables, and were truly at every female's beck and call. Loved ones drove in, sounds of laughter began to drift toward toward our house, and soon it was time for the bride to make her way down the aisle to her groom.

I sat on the porch and watched from a distance as the music cued up to my right, even as the sound of distant thunder rumbled to my left. Somehow, even though neighboring towns received wind damage and power outages, the skies above Wildernest remained serene and provided the perfect backdrop to a gorgeous early summer evening wedding.

It never ceases to amaze me how tranquil life is when you remove the worry and allow for the unexpected. Could this situation have turned out totally differently? Of course, but worrying about it wouldn't have been the deciding factor. Instead, everyone chose to focus on the joy, on the occasion, and on the assembly of family and friends.

It was a night to remember, and I hope they do - for a lifetime to come!

XXOO
Staci