Anniversary Harvest

We wanted to eat cake. Really we did. A wedding cake that was frozen in time so that a momentous day could be celebrated one year later. Instead, we harvested grapes and made grape juice as we stayed up way past bedtimes and then no one was hungry for wedding cake and I am not sure where the evening (or the cake) went.

I am not sure where the last year went either. A year ago today this is what we looked like, what we were doing. The day was much like today. Sunny, a little chilly, but a beautiful Fall day with friends and family. A good day, one of the best ever.

One year... 365 days...8760 hours. No matter how you look at it, the time flew by. Now the newlyweds aren't so "newly" but they are still blissfully wed. And as much as I loved the wedding day, the days since have been sweet as well. Not perfect because life gets busy, work gets in the way and sometimes the silence stretches on too long, but I look forward to the Sunday afternoons when we are all together to enjoy the laziness, the random text messages that say (although maybe not in these exact words) "I'm thinking about you", the birthday suppers, the "hey, are you at home" moments, and the "Can I stop by?"kind of days.

Yes, life goes on. Wedding days are full of promise, full of what the future holds, and hearts full to the point of overflowing. The days after have those days of crazy love, wonderful Saturdays spent together, the knowing that "goodbye" can simply be "goodnight" and the parting need not happen. Yes, life continues to be good and what the wedding day planted is now being harvested.

A year ago, we were dressed up, looking fine. Today, it is more relaxed, both in the pace and the style.

Instead of rushing to get hair styled, nails filed and makeup in place ready for smiles, I hit pause. I thought about grapes. 

I mean, its not every day that pink shoes fit the ticket and the other day, instead of setting up Morguen Toole with a vintage popcorn and candy bar, setting up table decorations and decorating the church, Lisa-Anna and I picked grapes. Another kind of harvest.

The vines were loaded. I don't think we even made a dent in what was there. Yeah, kinda like life. 

Life comes at us fully loaded. I just might make a dent. 

Did I mention that sometimes grape juice making can get a little messy? Maybe not in your house, but in my house, oh yeah. It gets ugly. All it takes is one rogue hose spraying scalding grape juice and well, you can see for yourself. But messy though it may be and even though the evening got later and later and soon it was in the wee hours of the morning, the results are worth it.

Okay, another life analogy. I can't help it. Life can get messy and ugly too sometimes. Not just in the big ways, but in the little things like bad moods, sour attitudes, harsh words that can't be erased….

Just like those hot spritzes of grape juice that spattered all over my stove. When they land on your skin, they burn. It hurts.

Now, how do I put all that together? Weddings, wonderful days, grape picking???

It's like this. Each day is given to us. Some days are for planting seeds, other days are for gathering the harvest in. Many days, it's just about letting life grow us. Waiting. Watching. Wondering. Hoping. Praying. Crying. Laughing. Resting.

Today I am remembering a good day. I've seen growth and it is good. Sweet. Like grapes. And this is only the first year's yield.

Love,
Dianne