It absolutely kills me that when it's one of the happiest times in my life, I haven't had time to blog. The other day I was out walking, and I had a very strong impression that I needed to stop my listening to scriptures (of all things!) and say a prayer. I spent the next 30 minutes, thanking Heavenly Father for this season in my life where things are so sweet and so many prayers are being answered.
There haven't been many happier times than the past few months with Glo making plans to marry Gordon. He brings out the best in Glo, and we all notice a sweetness in her that hasn't been there before. And watching her and hearing her talk about how excited she is to be "Mrs. Bridge" just fills me with so much happiness.
Just days (possibly two) after Glo got engaged, Becky Mecham reached out to me, asking if she could throw Glo's bridal shower. Per the usual, I was overwhelmed with the realization that my children are surrounded by a village of people who love them like family. We came up with a list of people who I thought would like to attend, as did Glo, as did Shannon (Gordon's mom).
I could've died when Becky sent us the invitation:
My cutie, artistic girl sure could appreciate how darling the graphic was. I was surprised to hear that when Becky went to pick up Glo from the airport, she and Bailey were headed into Salt Lake "to shop for the shower". I mean, how much was there to get for just a small shower in the Mecham living room?
Hannah, Rebecca and I flew into Salt Lake two days before to shop for a wedding dress and to attend the shower. We woke up Saturday morning and drove to the Mechams an hour early so that we could wrap our own shower gifts for Glo. The living room didn't have any decorations, but the food in the kitchen was covering every available surface. I told Becky that we certainly wouldn't be able to eat all of the food--you know, just the eight or so of us would be attending--and Becky mouthed behind my back "fifty people RSVPd".
I couldn't believe it. Basically every person we invited to the shower said they were coming. All for our Glo. I then asked Becky where everyone was going to sit, and Bailey told me to go out into the backyard.
I walked out the back door, took a look at the backyard, and staring crying. It was THE most perfect backyard, garden party, bridal shower I could've ever imagined. Not only were there huge trees to give us shade, but every table was covered with a white canopy. The tables held vases of wildflowers and some kind of bee motif with framed pictures of Glo and Gordon. There was a balloon arch (supposedly hiding some kayaks, but it was just cuteness to me). And the table holding all of the food? It was perfection. Becky had even ordered plastic honeycomb-printed wraps to go around the water bottles. There were salads and sandwiches and fruit kabobs and cake pops and brownies and lemonade. In fact, my friend, Cathy Byington, went around taking a million photos of everything because her daughter is also engaged and she figured she didn't need to reinvent the wheel ;-) There seriously was not a detail that was not thought of. Again, I was just overwhelmed with the thoughtfulness.
And then people started arriving. A third of the people were Bridge family members (including Grandma Jean!), a third were Glo's friends and Kennedy family members, and a third were people who have known Glo at different points in her life. The earliest friend there was Cathy--she and her husband were our game-playing friends in Dayton and knew us all through my pregnancy and birth of Glo. There were friends from Germany and friends from Pennsylvania too, some of whom hadn't seen Glo in quite a while and who commented on how beautiful both of my girls grew up to be. Amen, sisters!
Let's see if I can remember who I knew and saw during the shower (not including members of the Bridge family):
- Jennifer Howell (PA)
- Beth Hulet (PA)
- Cathy Byington (OH)
- Kate Scattergood (Germany)
- Katrina, May and Lily
- Liv and Morgan (DND)
Except for sitting down when Glo opened her gifts, I was standing and talking the entire three hours. It was 95 degrees outside, and we were all wearing dresses, but at one point, I had to excuse myself to get some water when I felt like I was going to pass out.
Everyone was so generous with their gifts. There were several funny moments though as Glo opened her gifts (I mean, when are the Kennedys NOT funny?). She received several things for her kitchen and with each one, she said, "Gordon is going to LOVE this!" Yes, it quickly became apparent that Glo is not the cook that Gordon is ;-) Too, the tables were so deep that not everyone could see the gifts, so Hannah became a Price is Right model, showing off all the gifts with her own commentary on them. She had people in stitches laughing! But the best moment came when Glo opened a Ninja Creami, and they both had to share with everyone their father's love of the appliance...and his missionary work to convert everyone to the Ninja Creami ;-)
I could hardly believe it when the three hours was over. I hadn't had a bite of any of that delicious food, and most of it was GONE! Shannon grabbed the gifts to take down to St. George which will eventually be picked up by Glo and Gordon. I'll always remember it as a day of love. So much love.
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