Blue Shoes for the Wedding !!

Each Present was carefully wrapped
& tucked into the splashy bag
from
'Fresh Produce'

(love those lively colors!)

 

The wedding is still a few days away. My dear friend's son, & his girlfriend, will be married at a place called The Family Farm, in the hills of Woodside. It was such fun picking out their presents at the ZEN store in Capitola, then wrapping them in pinks & blues (with old-fashion crinkly paper ribbon that you curl with scissors). Layed out beside my clothes on the bed, are the perfect pair of matching shoes! I found them at "Bunny's" on Pacific Avenue!!

. . . time to tuck away . . . 

. . . this happy array . . . 

 . . . of fanfare . . . 

. . . go to bed . . . 

 . . . fall asleep at last . . . 

. . . dreaming . . .

. . . of lovely promise . . . 

What is it about weddings? Why do they offer such delight and hope? How do they tug at our heartstrings so strongly? Even if we have a hard time conjuring up images of truly happy couples (married or not), there is a sacred twinge that one feels at a wedding ceremony. Is it the refusal of our human spirit to give up dreaming? To hold onto hope and delight? To keep wanting to believe in something beautiful? No matter what . . .

I set out to find a 'classy', elegant yet simple, 'nice & normal', wedding present (preferably one single vase--or something like that). I found an elegant silver-shimmery picture frame but it wasn't enough. Then, a candle in a frosty jar with a thick glass lid, and a wax-like-seal on top (but made of silver). And three really important toys: a refrigerator magnet with something sappy for newly weds, a bottle of bubbles with the plastic bubble blower inside, and a jigsaw puzzle. 

But this puzzle is different. Instead of painted cardboard, it's made from one of those plastic pictures kids love to look at: that substance, which gives the impression of action or movement when you angle it, slightly from side to side in your hand: material that gives a sort of 'view-finder effect' changing the picture you see, as the angle shifts. What ARE those things called???

Weddings are all about angles: setting the stage for 'dreams come true'. Photographs. The right pose, stance, flowers, gown, hairstyle, vows, music, food, and feeling. About the guests (the audience/witnessing) and pumping energy into the happy couple. Dancing, celebrating. A ceremony to look back upon and show your friends and maybe your kids, someday.

Maybe that last irresistible 'gag' puzzle-gift, was actually the most significant of all. It is so hard for me to just do the 'proper simple thing'. Toys are extremely important. They keep us young. I can see the two of them at a table while it's raining, putting the jigsaw pieces in place TOGETHER 40 years from now. They just didn't have any vases that were good enough.

But its really all about the shoes!!! Blue shoes to match my new blue skirt. Did you notice them?