Desert Magnolia

When I made the decision to go back to school, life changed, as we might expect. What had been busy became ultra scheduled. What had been intense took on a whole new meaning within a medical education. Priorities shifted. I had no idea how much free time I had before I went to school. That time evaporated within 15 minutes of crossing into the halls of medical focus. Flash forward to graduation, board exams, the scramble of early practice building, the commute involved with working two clinics, the endless focus on defining my practice, filling my schedule, etc. Not much free time there, either. Then there was an engagement, followed by planning and prep and wedding focus. That didn't take tons of physical time, but, as I'm learning, the emotional/intellectual prep for such an event is significant. And now it's done. It's over. The newlyweds are back home, settling into life as a married couple. We are adjusting to Life After. Days are no longer filled wi...

Son had borrowed it. Turns out he's not great about bringing things back - he's used to being on his own and coming and going and not having to think about things like a mug being someone else's. And a favorite at that. His departure left an energy vacuum that is slowly being filled with daily life. We are planting the succulents leftover from the botanical themed wedding. We are doing laundry, replacing light bulbs (an unprecedented number of them bit the dust over the wedding weekend, for some reason), returning borrowed coolers and fans and sundry other items necessary to stage an event the magnitude of ours. As the days go by I feel some clarity returning, some base energy filling the vast abyss following the wedding. I wasn't sure how to prepare for that, and still don't know how. I guess you experience it, then recover, as we are doing. We are enjoying pictures that are now circulating, taken during the festivities. Daughter and New Husband are ba...

The Big Event happened. Three days ago, after much anticipation, countless checklists, a multitude of fine adjustments...my baby girl got married. We cooked, we served, we mingled, we primped and prepared, we embraced the whirlwind of activity surrounding the Day. There was hair doing, makeup applying, dress steaming, adjusting, perfuming, perfecting. Along the way were moments...of extreme awareness, high emotion, gratitude, joy...the Day was intense. And something I am reliving in the days beyond. It was perfect. All of it. The weather, which had threatened to disrupt things right around ceremony time, calmed. Threatening clouds uttered final thunder rumbles, then softly dissipated over the mountain, almost like an invisible force field/protective bubble was around the venue. The clouds made it cooler than it could have been/should have been, and for that we were grateful. The lighting was perfect..magical, in many ways, and allowed for some gorgeous photos to be taken...