Hopelessly romantic!

This past week shaped up to play out with normal flair with some supply work, some refereeing, some Wynnie snuggles, and some two-wheeled explorations, but as the second hand ticked it's way around the clock face, something pretty cool occurred. 

Carrier Pigeons from Greece ... our family has officially expanded ... well, sort of officially.

For background, our son Keaton fell head over heels for a young Jessica Lyver, an amazing young lady from Erin. Following a romance blossoming that eventually saw them do a relationship in a less traditional manner, complete with a joint home purchase in "old" Guelph, our lil' KP eventually decided she was The One! Being the helpless romantic that he has become, he popped the BIG question to the apple of his eye two years ago on a trip to Italy, Mediterranean in the backdrop, atop an epic Cinque Terre hike. Much to his relief, she tearily responded with a YES, and the planning began in earnest. What started out as a potentially private affair ... think 2026 style elopement ... has morphed into something still small but sprinkled with a more traditional flavouring. 

Back to Greece, KP + Jess booked quite the excursion to the gem of the Aegean, complete with island hops and ruins, but the highlight was the private sharing of vows they booked for the anniversary of their engagement, on the shores of the Aegean. In their eyes, it was the sacred promise to each other, "To have and to hold, till death do us part", shunning the fact that Canada would still require them to do the paperwork once back on home soil. That notion germinated into a special day this coming fall, complete with a homegrown ruin of sorts, by making it legal at Guelph's own Goldie Mill, a historic gem in the city's downtown, site of an old limestone mill built by the Goldie family in the 1800's, but sold in 1918 to the Grand River Conservation Authority, who now book it out. These days, it is the site of a host of special occasions, and their ceremony certainly qualifies. During it's time, Goldie Mill included a foundry, cooperage, distillery, piggery and tannery so the history, while definitely Canadian, is front and center, sort of like Greece.

As far as our family sees it, the Lyver's have officially hitched their cart to the Porter clan ... or we to them, if they'd prefer to see it that way ... with only the ink on the paper left to dry. I don't mind admitting that we had some misty eyes when we received the photos of the moment via i-message, and considering that Greece is 7 hours ahead, it would have been a post-celebratory late night, a favour we truly appreciated. It's pretty easy to see the joy and love in their eyes!

October in downtown Guelph, nature's paint pallet in full bloom, will be a very special day, and will almost complete our little family's development after Maddi + Chris employing similar timing in 2023. Now, all that remains is another grand child ... no pressure you two, just dreams of two wrinkled old beach bums.

Life is assuredly quite good these days.