Whether it is sitting close and sharing a sunset with someone special or being brave enough to speak up and take a stand in what you believe; tucking your young and sweet child into bed at night or the build up and overwhelming disappointment you succumb to after losing an election; getting caught in the act doing something you were specifically told not to do or being part of a loving family gathered at the table to eat well and give thanks, Norman Rockwell was there. There are over 4,000 images he created to document the emotions and events of our everyday lives. He took American culture and turned it into a visual journey full of innocence, angst, surprise, anticipation, respect, joy, discovery, turmoil, hope, love and every other emotion you can think of. He used every brush stroke to drawn in all of our senses so each scenario he depicted is still vividly recognizable. This delightful image of a young woman gazing into the mirror as she imagines herself in that dress is my recognizable moment. I was full of the same anticipation and awe by the thought of being able to slip on my dream dress and feel like a princess for a day. My royal moment happened on July 23, 2003, my wedding day. It had taken me a long time in my life to get to that wonderful and magical moment. I was never much of a dater and always chose to be in relationships. I had my share of flat out failures and plenty of the "what was I thinking?" moments, but, I finally had a relationship I could stick with. He came along at a time when I was turning a new leaf and his presence always gave me a sense of encouragement and praise. We grew together as people and our love was a never ending source of comfort and joy in my life. So, when he proposed a couple of years into our relationship, I did not give him the typical "yes" or "no" answer. I punched him and said, "It's about time!"
My mother is from a charming village in Northern Ireland. It was a place where I had spent many wonderful summers making memories with our large extended family. It was also where we had decided to lay my father, and, someday, my mother to rest. So, we toyed with the notion of getting married in the old chapel where my mother sang in the choir as a child and it was situated next to the graveyard where we had buried my father. Could we make it happen all the way from Florida? Yes, but, since we had decided to get married overseas, the year leading up to the wedding was full of stress for me.
I had flown over to Ireland by myself about 9 months prior to the big day to make ALL of the selections for our wedding. I had five days to meet the pastor and get permission to use the church and bring in my own priest, find a reception site, pick the menu, pick flowers, hire the photographer, choose the entertainment, order the cake and the list goes on..... Anyone who knows me well (and I partly blame it on being a Libra) knows that I am extremely indecisive. Luckily, I had the incredible support of my very patient cousin and his nurturing wife to literally hand hold me through this very stressful process. I left feeling proud of myself and my choices but lost most of my courage as we got closer to the date.
When we landed in Ireland nine months later and a couple of days before the wedding, we had to hit the ground running. Not only was I battling a different time zone that I was not used to, we had family and guests flying in, deposits to pay, hair appointments to make, and (DEEP BREATH) hoping that I still liked everything that I had chosen and suddenly had a bad case of amnesia about. The night before, I was suddenly terrified. I laid there staring at the ceiling and my heart pounded inside my chest. It was my first and only real case of wedding jitters. Would I look good in my dress? Was it going to rain? What was he (my groom to be) thinking about right now?
So, you are probably wondering when I am going to get to this magical moment I had. It literally happened when I walked through the chapel's grand double doors and down the aisle adorned with small bouquets of fragrant flowers decorated with little American and Irish flags. My mother's arm intertwined in mine was strong and supportive, my Calla Lily bouquet bound together with shiny silver ribbon was breathtaking, the princess style wedding gown fit fine, the handsome and beautiful bridal party were a comforting sight, the audience filled with dear friends and loved ones were smiling and welcoming me into my moment, and, most of all, I could see and feel the joy in my soon to be husband’s face. It was everything I had hoped for, except, the feelings were even more intense than I could have ever imagined. It was another Norman Rockwell moment.
When we landed in Ireland nine months later and a couple of days before the wedding, we had to hit the ground running. Not only was I battling a different time zone that I was not used to, we had family and guests flying in, deposits to pay, hair appointments to make, and (DEEP BREATH) hoping that I still liked everything that I had chosen and suddenly had a bad case of amnesia about. The night before, I was suddenly terrified. I laid there staring at the ceiling and my heart pounded inside my chest. It was my first and only real case of wedding jitters. Would I look good in my dress? Was it going to rain? What was he (my groom to be) thinking about right now?
So, you are probably wondering when I am going to get to this magical moment I had. It literally happened when I walked through the chapel's grand double doors and down the aisle adorned with small bouquets of fragrant flowers decorated with little American and Irish flags. My mother's arm intertwined in mine was strong and supportive, my Calla Lily bouquet bound together with shiny silver ribbon was breathtaking, the princess style wedding gown fit fine, the handsome and beautiful bridal party were a comforting sight, the audience filled with dear friends and loved ones were smiling and welcoming me into my moment, and, most of all, I could see and feel the joy in my soon to be husband’s face. It was everything I had hoped for, except, the feelings were even more intense than I could have ever imagined. It was another Norman Rockwell moment.
After the ceremony, we paid our respects to my father and laid a bouquet of flowers from the wedding on top of his grave. I knew his spirit was with me. There was even an ongoing mention of him as many joked that he kept the typical rain away for his daughter's big day.
I kept Norman's sentiment with me and continued to observe every single glorious sight, smell, and feel of our special event for the rest of the day as I was graciously treated like a princess. As we drove away from the chapel in a beautiful pale blue and silver vintage Rolls Royce past the rolling green mountains (a big deal for a girl from Florida), I captured every detail of my fairytale moment in my head. The crisp July air and the smell of the salty sea, the feeling of all of those undercover layers of crinoline rubbing my legs and sticking to my stockings, the overwhelming completeness that I was feeling. I remained so quiet (which is rare for me in moments like these) that my new husband asked me, “What’s wrong?” and I clearly remember saying “Nothing. I am just taking it all in and I don’t want to ever forget any of this.”
So, today I am offering this little bit of advice in the spirit of Norman Rockwell - Take the time to not only realize but to completely capture a memory when you are having a truly amazing moment.
So, today I am offering this little bit of advice in the spirit of Norman Rockwell - Take the time to not only realize but to completely capture a memory when you are having a truly amazing moment.
Image Credit: Prom Dress by Norman Rockwell
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