Showered with Blessings

So, there are a lot of things happening in the Pearl family these days--good things, extraordinarily good things.

One of them is that we have a son getting married in early November--which makes it three weddings for the Pearl boys within the space of eleven months!

I've blogged about what I'm going to wear: a pale green jacquard tea-length skirt and jacket set with embroidered flower embellishments (a total steal at 80% off its regular price), along with a pearl-and-Miraculous-Medal necklace I had specially made to suit my needs over at Etsy.

Here's the thing, though: like all women, I have a prerogative to change my mind, right?  Not that I'm going to...but I sometimes find myself thinking that the outfit I'm planning to wear isn't "good enough."  This wedding will be, after all, one of the most special events of my life.  My beloved second-born son is marrying the girl of his dreams!  That's huge!  And not that it matters, really; but I don't want to look at the pictures from this glorious occasion and wish I'd worn something different, something less "grandma-ish." I mean, there might be a better dress out there, over where the grass is greener.

Are all women just a wee bit insane, I wonder?

My soon-to-be new daughter-in-law (I'm going to call her "Ginger," I've decided, and those of you who know her will understand why this is a perfect blog alias for her) did the nicest thing for me on the morning of her shower, which was just this past Sunday.  I'm not one to do much with my hair, because I'm hopeless at hairstyling.  So I usually just wash it, pull it back in a headband, and let it air-dry.  But she asked me if she could blow it out for me (and while doing so, infused it with some wondrous hair-thickening potion from Nexxus), and I don't believe I've ever felt prettier!

My favorite hairstylist and me, in our "little black aprons."
 (Look ma, no headband!)

Ginger has generously offered to treat me to a professional blow-out on the morning of the wedding (she's so good at it that I'd love to have her do it, but I think she might be a tad busy that day), and I think I'm going to accept.  Not that my hair looked SO bad at the other weddings.  But there's always room for improvement, right?

So, my husband and I got to spend precious time with a good percentage of our family members on Sunday.  He and his boys golfed while we girls enjoyed the incredible buffet, the mimosas, and the gift-opening.  The only sons missing were the "bookend" boys: the youngest (who's a senior out at Notre Dame); and the oldest, his wife Regina, and their three adorable little girls (who are also out in the Midwest).

It's nice that three of our sons are currently Virginians, so they can see each other fairly often.  Sons #3 and #4 and their wives actually live right around the corner from each other (literally!)--which is wonderful for us, because when we visit that area we get a two-fer.

This same group was together in VA not too long ago for another shower--a baby shower for little G-Man, who is getting so big that he's making life a bit uncomfortable these days for his sweet mommy, Preciosa.

We're very stripe-y, aren't we?

So much is happening that sometimes I am utterly overwhelmed by it all, and filled with an unaccountable feeling of anxiety (but that might be the tumor talking).  I'm the luckiest woman on earth, because I know some people have so many tough things to deal with in their lives; and meanwhile, here I am being showered with blessings at every turn.  Worrying about being able to be where I need and want to be, because my kids' lives are so filled with joyous happenings and I don't want to miss anything, is currently my biggest problem.  It's a good problem to have.

Well, I'm having trouble figuring out how I should end this here post.  So I'll just say so long for now.  But I'll be back again tomorrow, bothering you for your opinion about whether or not I should wear my trademark black hat for the upcoming wedding, since I'm going to be going outside the box this time around and sporting an actual hair-do!  (You'll be waiting for that post with bated breath, I'm sure...)