Fl wedding for Uncle Tom and Auntie Jess

We arrived back into Cincinnati this morning after an unexpected cancelled flight yesterday out of FL....although it caused some initial stress, we were excited to have one more pool day and it happened to be Dad's 54th birthday so we were able to have some drinks and toast to him and remember my amazing Dad......I miss him so much.

I did well this weekend. I did what I said I was going to do- enjoy myself to the greatest extent. But there were moments of sadness......Ted's Dad did a beautiful speech at the rehearsal dinner- he started off talking about how at each of his son's weddings, their network of family and friends expands. He first talked about our wedding- my parents and the Olszowy family, and talked about the fun that we all had and the relationships that grew with Pat & Jerome and how lord took them away. I wasn't expecting anything to be said about my parents. It caught me off guard but it was so special. I know my parents had a special place in their heart and they always will. I guess it makes me sad because I know we had something special with our two families. And then, as my beautiful Sister-in-law walked down the aisle, I turned my head and saw my Sister crying. I knew she was crying for several reasons. She will never have that moment with Dad. I cried for her and cried missing my own father and then cried some more for how beautiful Jess looked and how happy my brother-in-law was. 

The hotel we stayed at was very trendy and we had a fantastic room with views of the beautiful bay. We shared fun dinners out with Ted's family and after Elle went to sleep we would have family and the wedding party down in our suite for drinks. Elle was a rock star this entire weekend. She took naps, she went down every night in the hotel crib, slept through the night, passed out on the way home from the reception to be dropped off with a babysitter so I could go back and enjoy some of the signature wedding cocktails-"close to heaven" and dance with my Sister, cousin Beth, Ted and others...... Elle loves to run.....and I was whipped by the time it hit 9pm and I was quite relaxed once I could come back to the reception and enjoy the wedding. But Elle did such a great job and looked adorable.....she walked down the aisle perfectly, while holding my hand. and sat through the ceremony while she quietly picked apart her flowers. It was a special day and I was very proud of her and Ted- I loved seeing them both be a part of their wedding. 

We enjoyed lazy days by the pool, frozen drinks, poolside food, checking out Siesta Key beach and being with Ted's family. 

There will always be moments of great sadness- wishing my parents were still alive so I could share this all with them- to see how beautiful Elle is and how much she has grown. I think I'll be so sad about that for the rest of my life. See, they were suppose to be here. They were never suppose to miss all of this. Losing them both so tragically makes it even worse. But I thank my parents, perhaps even my grandfather, for sending down strength to my Sister and I. As my therapist says, recognize the pain- it really, really hurts, but then also allow yourself to let the joy in. And I think I did that this weekend. I definitely let joy in my life down in Sarasota, FL...

Tired, 

Melissa