Lee's Wedding

Lee got married last night. It was the last of four weddings we attended this summer. While it has been an expensive summer (those gifts really add up), it has been money well spent and has made the summer truly memorable and pleasurable.

I met Lee's dad when I first started teaching over 30 years ago. He came to my school after being excessed from a school in the Bronx. His dad instantly became friends with the group I hung out with and we were all inseparable. In fact, today, we are all just as close as we were then. Together with our spouses we are a close knit group.

Lee's dad was the very first person I was close with who became a dad. I will never forget the glow in is face when Lee was born.

He was glowing last night, like the light above, at the wedding of this first born child. (Photo from wedding.)

The wedding itself was sensational. Lee is Jewish and his lovely bride does not follow any particular religion so they decided to get married by a judge, write their own vows and add a couple of Jewish traditions. Lee broke the glass at the end of the ceremony and the bride's mother hand knit the chuppah. If you look carefully you can see the Statue of Liberty in the background.

The wedding took place at Battery City Gardens, part of my favorite park in the entire city.

Staten Island Ferry

Couple of guys fishing on this beautiful day
Carnival cruise ship to Nova Scotia (I've taken this cruise twice and plan to do it again. It is fantastic.)
Water falls and a sail boat
Out sailing for the dayFamily enjoying the view of the Statue of Liberty
Night view of the falls.

The reception was wonderful. The good weather held out and the cocktail hour was outside, overlooking all of the above. This guy fascinated me and I must have taken 20 pictures of him. A bartender told me he was wearing a $500 designer suit.

The bride is very down to earth. Her attendants were her sisters. She wore a shite dress with some black on it. She told them to wear black and wear anything they wanted. They were in a wide variety of styles and all happy with what they chose. The theme was earthy and all the table decorations and flowers blended perfectly.

The charger, under every one's plate.
The candle, on every table.
The centerpieces.
The salt and pepper shakers.

Nothing was like anything I have ever seen in a wedding before. Every guest had an individual name tag and place seatings were on a wall. Also on the wall were wedding pictures of parents, grandparents, great grand parents, aunts, uncles, etc.

The main thing that made this wedding so special were the two people that got married. Not only was the love they felt for each other felt by everyone in attendance, but everyone in attendance had some special significance in their lives.

When I think back on all my years of teaching, one of the things I am most grateful for is the friendships I have made and that have endured and grown over the years. To know that I am a special part of the lives of the children of the people I've taught with only enriches me more.

John

John graduated from Packemin HS in 1995. When I first met him, I thought he was kind of slow, but a really nice kid. I never called his home because he appeared to be working to capacity so why stress his mom and dad. He did manage to pass and I was able to put him in a double period class where he could get extra help.

I ended up being the teacher of this double period class and got to know John and his two buddies completely. I found that these three ninth grade boys were not slow, but were not interested in school either. They lived and breathed baseball. They dreamt of opening up a surf shop together in South Beach. I encouraged their dreams and also stressed their education so they would have something to fall back on, just in case. I even took my son to cheer them on as they played on the junior varsity team in a nearby park.

By coincidence, John ended up in my class the following year. He still was not much of a worker and I picked on him and pushed him to work and that he did. He passed Sequential Math I, II and III. He graduated and went on to a community college. After 4 years, he decided to become a history teacher and came back to Packemin to do his observations. He begged his advisor to be allowed to sit in my math class, rather than a history class and the advisor agreed. He said, he wanted to be just like me when he started teaching. (Pity his poor students.) Once again, I was calling on John, along with the rest of my class.

Fast forward two more years, John is now graduating college and about to become a teacher. Again, coincidentally, his mom is a para at Packemin. I am so happy that I send John a check for $25 to celebrate his graduation. John frames it instead of cashing it.

It is now 2008, 13 years since John graduated from high school and 17 years since I first met him. John got married this weekend. His two friends from high school were there. Only in New York would a kid from the Philippines have best friends from Columbia and Pakistan. My husband and I were invited to the wedding banquet. I felt honored to have been invited after all the years that passed. John even had a picture of the two of us in his slide show. I had tears in my eyes as I saw this wonderful young man enter the room with his beautiful bride.

Some people would have written the three of them off years ago. All three are big successes. John teaches history and although he never made it to the major league, he coaches his school's varsity baseball team. One of the boys is a computer geek and earns big $$$$$ doing IT stuff and the other is in charge of all the stores of a major retailer in the New York area. I'm glad I never gave up on them.

This was my first Chinese Banquet dinner. Although there was nothing that I could eat (not kosher), it was an event to remember. At 5:30 a buffet table opened. At 6:30 the guests took their seats and platter after platter was brought out. I think there were ten courses. The last one before dessert was lobsters. My husband said it was the best food he has ever eaten. All I know is that I have never seen so much food in one place before.

Summer of Weddings

I never understood the big deal about weddings and tears. Maybe it's age or maybe it's having children of marriageable age, but my eyes are getting wet at all weddings these days.

This picture is from my son's best friend's wedding. I've known the groom since he was in third grade and his parents say he would still be in high school if I did not tutor him in math. The bride I met only once. Seeing her dad's eyes' all wet as he walked her down the aisle was enough to set me off. My son was best man and seeing these two young men, dressed to the nines in their tuxes, had me weeping again.

For me, this is the summer of weddings. I've already been to two and two more are on the calendar. The next one is the wedding of a former student. I remember this boy, sitting in class with his two best friends, dreaming about playing professional baseball or opening up a surf shop on the beach. He was far from a good student and only when I got to know him better, did I learn that he was just not interested in school. In spite of this, he graduated on time and went to a junior college. True, it took him six years to decide what he wanted to be and to graduate, but graduate he did. He went on to finish and is now teaching history and coaching baseball. His mom told me the graduation check I sent him is framed on his wall. I hope he cashes the one I am planning on giving him at the wedding. I know I will get weepy when he takes his vows.

The last wedding of the summer is that of the son of a guy I became friends with when I first began teaching. I will never forget this guy's face when his baby was born. He looked like he had a 200 watt light bulb inside his head. I never saw anyone glow with happiness so much. Over the years, I have watched this baby grow into a wonderful, responsible, fine adult and I know already the tears will flow as his parents escort him down the aisle.

I don't want to think about how much money I have spent this summer on wedding gifts (well over $1000). I want to think about the wonderful young people I have watched grow and be happy that I am able to contribute to their new lives together.