Esther's Speech

My maid of honor gave this speech at my wedding and had me crying my eyes out. These are her cliff notes: Talk about how we met in Phoenix, and Treana and Lawren became my family. So honored to be standing with you today as you say your vows to each other.
T and I like to travel together, and so I am going to be sharing some tips with L for a happy life together that I've learned about Treana on our road trips together.


1. Carry plenty of snacks. Nothing kills the fun for her more than low blood sugar. Keep them handy at all times.

2. Don't be too set on your plans. Reason why T is so great to travel with - she leaves room for adventure and exploration. In your future together, set goals and make plans, but be flexible with them. When unexpected surprises come along, let yourself go with it instead of doing what you had planned. With Treana as your partner, I promise it will make life all the richer.

3. Always have an iPhone. When directions are needed or you need an answer to something, she will probably trust Siri more than you. So just keep it handy.

4. Find time to sit down and really talk to her every day. Treana is such a gift to my life, and to so many other people here, because she will always sit down, look you in the eye, and give the kind of raw honesty, support, and love that you need. And I know that one of her favorite things about your relationship together is your reciprocation of that. Make it a point to really talk, every day, and I know your connection will always stay strong.

LB, I can't even begin to count the number of hours T and I have spent talking about you, your relationship, and your future together.

Which leads to tip 5...
Always know how much she loves you. As her best friend, I assure you that what she wants most in this world is the life she is building with you, and she will fiercely protect it every day. And I also believe there is no better man that she could build a life with, and I am so happy for her that she found you.


With that, I'd like to propose a toast to Treana and Lawren, and to a lifetime of adventure, and connection, and love.

 

Love you E. Now and Always.

Throw Back Thursday: Parenthood

I originally posted this in March of 2014 and I think it bears re-reading as we are getting married in a few days.... So that’s the thing about the show, and the real life parenthood thing: it’s so hard. It is gut wrenching, soul-giving work, that somehow, despite the shear WORK of it all, brings incomprehensible joy. This is why the show, Parenthood, is likely my favorite show on television at the moment.

Spoiler(ish)-alert: in tonight’s episode, Zeek (the patriarch of the Braverman clan), goes to his daughter’s husband (from whom she is separated) and says, “When I walked Julia down the aisle, I gave her to you. I took you on as a son because I knew, and I still know, that that guy is the guy for her. So as you figure stuff out, could you try a little harder.” A paraphrase, but man was it beautiful.

And beautifully heartbreaking for me. You see, I, along with so many other people, don’t have a dad. I don’t have someone that would show up for the hardest parts of LB and I’s marriage and give him a loving, stern, talk about his responsibility to me as his wife. I don’t have anyone who is giving me away to LB.

What I do have, however, are the following three things:

1. I have my loving, understanding, hilarious, amazing, lovely, faithful, and beautiful friends to give me away. Next to LB, there is no one, and I mean NO ONE, who knows the insides of my soul like they do.

2. I have US: the LB + Treans combo that has been grown over the past 6 years. The US is what is giving me away to LB… the US is what allows me to trust LB with every part of my soul going forward. And the US is what I cannot wait to give to our kids so that they won’t have to say, I don’t have a dad to give me away at my wedding. Because, listen future sons and daughter-in-law, LB and I both will be there to root you on through your marriages. Tough love and all.

3. I have God. I take comfort in the fact that whatever form I think God takes on a given day, that I know that my God, the one who I know intimately, has guided me towards LB from the beginning. I have always said that I am CONVINCED that God assigned me a guardian angel from birth. Just mine. Cause, let’s be serious, I am not that great at sharing and God knows that.

I am not going to say that I would take my 3 substitutes over a real dad, because I have never had the experience of having one. But what I will say, is that I cannot wait for this journey of parenthood, so that I can watch LB become a real dad and I can figure out all the gloriously hard work that goes into it.