Jason and I have been friends since before we were born. Our parents were friends who spent a lot of time together when we were kids. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I was told once that his parents were named as our guardians if anything happened to our parents.
After my parents divorced and I moved away from Panama, we didn't see each other as often, but we always became friends again every summer when my sister and I would go back to Panama to spend time with our dad.
Then, his parents moved to the states and college happened and we saw a little less of one another. But then this awesome thing called social media happened and we would go through phases with a lot of contact and instant messaging and then times where we weren't doing much more than "liking" each other's posts on facebook. It works for us. I know that Jason would always be there for me and I hope he knows that I am always here for him.
The next one is the morning after my wedding (9 years ago). This is the day he shaved his head, knowing he was starting chemotherapy once he returned home.
3 years ago:
I found out about Jason's wedding shortly after his engagement, while I was still pregnant with Alice. It seemed like an impossible feat to be able to go to Florida to be there for it. I could not imagine taking three kids with me and I could not imagine leaving three kids here with Keith for four days. I also could not imagine missing such an important day/event in Jason's life. I thought I might be able to just take Alice with me. I really had to think about this trip and I didn't even buy my plane ticket until October after Keith and I decided that he would be okay with the kids for a few days and I should go alone (even if it meant that I would be taking his precious truck to an airport parking lot for a few days and he wouldn't be able to stare at it in the driveway.). And I am SO glad I went! I felt naked without my kids, but I was able to spend time with both sets of my parents and my sisters and our family friends. I enjoyed getting to know Rene and some of her family and, of course, getting to spend some time with my oldest friend, Jason.
We made it to the Tampa airport!
Sunset in Clearwater, FL on Thursday
Sunrise in Clearwater, FL on Friday,
I brought a little "Nashville" to Florida with me.
My Aunt Diane (Dad's sister) lives in the area and we met her for lunch on Friday.
Sunset on Friday
Rehearsal Dinner on Friday night:
They bused us from the hotel to the restaurant. There were so many of us that the bus had to make two trips!
Everything about this weekend made me want to rewatch "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"
I'm beginning to hear that I look like my mom. What do you think?
Bus back to hotel. I hopped on the first bus back around 10:30. I was wiped out!
Saturday: Wedding Day!
Kimi and Deanne slept in a little and I went to breakfast with both sets of my parents. (Regretting now that I didn't take THAT picture)
After breakfast, we walked back to the hotel to get Deanne and Kimi before we headed over to see Winter and her other friends over at Clearwater Marine Aquarium!
Okay, gonna veer from wedding talk for a minute to share our experience at the aquarium. If you have seen the movie, "Dolphin Tale", then you know Winter's story (Well, mostly. Not surprisingly, we found out that *some* of the story line was added for dramatic effect.). They are in the middle of filming the second movie right now, so the aquarium is shut down during the week and areas are roped off and there is some construction going on. (They are building a pretty nice ticket booth area for the "set", which then becomes just a nice update to the aquarium, I guess.)
Quick backstory: Winter was rescued on the beach tangled in fishing wire or fish netting. She ended up losing her tail. She taught herself to swim using her tail side-to-side like a fish does, but a dolphin's tail should go up and down. This side-to-side motion isn't great for her spine. So, without going into a lot of detail, a special prosthetic tail was made for Winter. In the process of creating just the right prosthetic for her, they invented this gel-like sleeve to put on over her very sensitive skin before the prosthetic goes on. They call it Winters Gel and it is now used all over the world for people who wear prosthesis!
Oh, Hi, Winter!
I got to hold her prosthetic tail. She only wears it about three times a day for physical therapy. The staff member behind me is holding her Winters Gel sleeve (it feels tacky and it's REALLY stretchy).
This Houseboat is part of the movie set
Winter is waving "hello".
Winter is not alone at the aquarium. It really isn't a very big place, but they do big work there! They rescue and rehabilitate other sea life. Among other animals, they had an otter whose back legs are paralyzed, some sting rays, sea turtles, and two other rescued dolphins, Hope and Nicholas.
I walked next door to get a peek at Jason before I went to get ready. (He was sequestered in his parents' room two doors down)
Then it was time to get ready and get on over to that church!
(video)
Then, it was back to the hotel for cocktail hour and the reception.
(I have a photo from my wedding that looks a lot like this one. I'm walking along between the wedding ceremony and the reception and Keith is following behind with a beer in his hand. I'll see if I can scrounge it up!)
*okay! I found it!*
Back to Rene and Jason!
(VIDEO)
I went up to bed around 11:30, but I hear that the party was still going around 2:30am!
The next morning, we rose before the sun did so we could get to the airport in time for Deanne and Kimi to catch their flight. My flight wasn't for two more hours, so Dad and Chris hung out with me and we had breakfast and visited some more.
It was tough to leave that 80 degree weather and come back to the cold, dreary weather we were having here in Tennessee.
These guys made that a little more bearable. :)
Rene- I really enjoyed getting to know you. You did a great job pulling together a really fun wedding weekend. You looked beautiful! Now, I know that you know, but Jason is one of the good guys. He will remain loyal and supportive and he will make an amazing father! I hope you guys feel welcome to come visit us in Nashville anytime! Hugs, sister! (P.S. I will be sending you a disc with photos and videos soon!)
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