The eagle has landed

Like Neil Armstrong's iconic utterance signifying the landing of the Lunar Module, the Eagle, on the moon's surface in 1969, Sept 23rd marks the beginning of the first of two family weddings (we are hoping that our son Keaton will take the plunge at some point) for Joyce and I with our arrival at the ironically named Eagle Lake for Maddi's massive decision to officially meld her life with her "Boo", Chris Cove.

In my last post, I tried to offer some understanding of the mental/emotional state of invested parties with the impending nuptials of our daughter. With the site being at the Cove family cottage and the need to transport everything wedding related to said remote location, everyone's vehicles are packed to the ceiling. This also means that instead of arriving on the site the day of with perhaps a place to crash for a night after the rousing reception, this version will feature a mini-marathon of revelry as most of the guests will arrive 2-3 days in advance of the big day and likely leave late in the day Sunday.

Joyce and I arrived at Eagle Lake Thursday with our nearly new RAV4 loaded to the hilt, and the buzz of activity as palpable as a bee hive with last minute decorations being hung, lists being double checked, and brows slowly unfurling. A few of Maddi + Chris' friends arrived this morning, adding to the buzz with their glowing smiles and heartfelt excitement, but when Maid of Honour Sara and fiancee Kyle showed up, their arms laden with ingredients for this evening's classic Italian meal they will be preparing, the "s#%& got real", as the saying goes. Even though the event will be small by traditional wedding standards, the emotions are as powerful as any in history. 

Staying with a foodie theme, Friday's rehearsal dinner will be the parent's turn to delight the hoard when we cooperatively offer a cottage-inspired concoction of gastric glory like Beef Wellington, unique but delicious salads, and the famous Porter potatoes called Schwartzies. The caloric waterfall will be topped off with Maddi's childhood favourite of Peanut Butter Pie and Turtle Squares.

If you recall, in my last post I let slip that a caterer was finally secured very recently, meaning I have no idea what the reception meal will look and taste like, but I can tell you that I have zero doubt it will live up to the occasion. True to her father's obsession, Maddi convinced Chris that the much anticipated wedding dessert will be her absolute favourite Maid's Cottage Butter Tarts.

Epic only scratches the surface! Plus there'll be a wedding in there somewhere!

I've stolen a few minutes today to contemplate the position in life that I now find myself with my beautiful daughter's special day looming, my mind dredging up long buried memories from her childhood, cherubic freckled face framed by strawberry blond ringlets and a smile bright enough to light up Las Vegas. Maddi was an active youngster, filling her days with childhood best friends, dressing up, and her favourite Disney entertainment like The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast. To this day, she is the only child I know personally who wore out TWO VHS copies of The Little Mermaid! HaHaHa! Of course, you can pretty much guarantee 100% that Ariel will find her way into the mix on Saturday, in some manner.

As the years slipped by, Disney took a back seat to a host of fictional series ... Team Edward? Katniss Everdeen? ... each grasping tightly to Maddi's attention like some climber scaling Yosemite, consuming both her waking and dream-time minutes, but none had the lasting effect like one young wizard with a lightning bolt scar. Some of the blame for that one lies with this DOD (Dear Old Dad) since the whole family spent many a night curled up together in my bed, listening as I read aloud from the Harry Potter chronicles bastardizing the British names like Hermione until we were jointly educated by the first full length feature film. I pronounced it phonetically HER-mee-own. 

It was right around this time that Maddi outgrew her other athletic experiences, settling on swimming as the preferred choice and it's 5:30 am practices with the Barrie Trojans. I have previously written in posts that I feel I have led a blessed life, and this was just further proof when Maddi opted for mom to be the primary chauffeur leaving Keaton and I to explore our own common interests during daylight's hours. 

Swimming is a horrendous sport to the uninitiated!

If the OMG early practices weren't enough to deter the less hardy, combine that with a second dunking each day after school, racking up the KMs faster than I do on my bike, and battering the body with stresses that only the toughest of minds can endure. Maddi couldn't consume enough calories to keep quality protein surrounding her bones, melting away any much needed post-pubescent adipose tissue, and inflicting wear and tear on her spine and shoulders. This tells you all you need to know about Maddi and swimming; It wasn't enough to go two-fer each day so she was a part of a small group of amphibious crazies who convinced Ron Andrews and myself to restart the BCC Swim Team so that they could get even more swimming in. Ron and I were such great coaches that we enjoyed immediate success at both the association (GBSSA) and provincial (OFSAA) levels, (read that with all its intended sarcasm). While her brother filled his year with a wide variety of activities, Maddi focused solely on going through the water as fast a she was capable, even choosing to continue upon arrival at Waterloo University as a freshman. 

I marvelled at her dedication, commitment, and grit!

Like so many before her, Maddi's priorities altered as her university experience progressed, and swimming was replaced by academic excellence, her focus set upon a career in physiotherapy. On that bright, sunny day of graduation, boasting an undergrad GPA of 87%, I thought that being any prouder of her wasn't possible. She had accomplished so much of what she had set her sights on and had a blossoming relationship with a cute engineer from Oshawa to boot. Unfortunately, life has a way of humbling us, and she rammed straight into the glass ceiling that is physiotherapy entrance standards, and despite her prolific GPA from one of the toughest universities in Ontario, she had to change course. Watching her deal with the disappointment was one of the hardest things I have had to endure as her father, but the universe seems to have a way of balancing things, and her love for Chris was growing faster than a bamboo forest. 

Which leads full circle back to where we are right now. She has her Boo Chris, they own a home, a crazy PWD named Remi, a decent job, and will soon have to decide if it's' Porter-Cove or just Cove. She beams when she's beside him so I know he's the one, and despite having shared their lives for over 4 years already, they're both eager for what is further down life's path. She's had quite the mothering role model in Joyce so I'm pretty sure that grandkids are in the plans ... no pressure though ... and I extremely confident that she will be a tremendous mom. 

For now I will simply bask in the glory of my daughter's wedding.

The final ceremony will be both wonderful and morose at the same time since we couldn't be happier or more proud of both Maddi and Chris, but i'd be lying if I didn't feel there was something missing ... her grandfathers. With my father passing in 2006 and Joyce's father in 2018, our grandparent connection will have to be filled by Maddi's Nana Andrea Porter and Gramma Pearl Foster. You can be sure that a glass of what ails us will be raised in their honour as a testament to the profound love they both so willingly gifted Maddi while still with us. 

A little over 24 hours left ... pray for an improving forecast!