This past weekend I got to see two of my best friends join hands in marriage. And I cried at their wedding. But let me tell you why I cried.
This was the third celebration of life I attended this year.
Earlier this year, my mom became incredibly sick and was hospitalized. She had some infections that just wouldn’t allow her to get better. Unfortunately she passed away from all of these complications. I’m still deep in my grieving and not sure I’ll ever get over that. I’ll learn to deal. That, however, is a story for another day.
Last month a friend of the community passed away quite suddenly. A fellow non-binary friend that was very out and very proud. We would run into each other every once in a while and have a short conversation before she said hello to another friend. I initially met P.A. Sechler when I first tried stand up comedy. I had to drop that because I could no longer breathe in those bars, but P.A. continued to become better and funnier. Fast forward to this year’s Pride Parade, and I got to see her perform stand up comedy; with a full beard, full dress, and heels. This past October I went to the P&H to celebrate the life of P.A., a life cut too short. There were so many emotions brought to surface.
November 10th brought us a marriage. A merging of lives, family, and friends. A joyous day where everything goes wrong, yet still happens in perfect harmony. My two friends Terri and Eric had their marriage that afternoon with a magical theme. There was a lot of creativity. Some were witches and wizards, others had Hogwarts House-related clothing, the rest knew nothing about Harry Potter.
At Terri & Eric’s first dance, and the parents were brought onto the dance floor as well, it struck me. This is the third celebration of life I’ve been to this year. Thankfully this was an actual celebration of a union. This time it was a joyous occasion. And it was overwhelming and I cried.
I tried not to blubber a whole lot. Didn’t want to cause a scene. But I couldn’t have overshadowed the bride and groom dancing along to the band Heels.
To see some of the magic and wonder of their wedding, here is a video I took HERE.