Monday, September 6, 2010

It takes a village or two!


They say it takes a village to raise a child, this weekend for me it was two, and American village and a Canadian village. We went to our friends Heather and Roman's wedding this weekend. It was the first wedding our children had attended so I was a little nervous. It is easy to hang out with other families with special needs children, but going to a large event and being the only family with a Special Needs child can be tough.

First let me tell you about Heather and Roman. Heather is American and Roman is Canadian. Heather is loud, crazy and perpetually late. More importantly Heather has a heart of gold, she is kind, patient, and does not pass judgement, and when you have a personality like that you attract good people which is how she found Roman. This weekend we were part of Heather's and Roman's wedding. It was a beautiful event with an unusual ceremony with two different Priest, one Methodist and one Ukranian Catholic. It was by far one of the most beautiful weddings I have been to.

For us the weekend started with a BBQ with Heather and Roman's friends and family, a lot of family. I sat and watched my kids play and interact with a bunch of strangers and I was amazed. Everyone was so kind and patient with the kids and especially Mira. Mira oohed over the babies and invaded peoples personal space but everyone was very kind. I watched as a woman try to play a frisbee game with Mira, and enjoyed Jazzy and Buck doing the Hamster Dance.

On the day of the Big Event, I was very nervous knowing it was a Catholic ceremony. Would my kids sit that long quietly? And surprisingly they did it. We made it to the reception and waited. Waited for the bride and groom and waited for the food to come. It was then that Mira had her melt down. The man at the microphone was too loud and she sat with tears in her eyes and her fingers in her ears. I could see people staring, I think feeling bad for her, but then food was served and the magic began. The music started to play and some of the brides maids and Heather made a point of connecting with her and dancing with her and she couldn't be happier.

I feel blessed to have been on the guest list of such and amazing event with such amazing people. And I wish Heather and Roman many years of joy.