Weddings and travel and parties, oh my

Cousins at Tibetan wedding ceremony with Karma and Jeremy, center

At first I couldn't understand the invitation:

“Jeremy and Karma's Wedding Weekend” 

Saturday, December 22nd at 2:00 PM to

Sunday, December 23rd at 3:00 PM

The address: 

Walker Creek Ranch 

1700 Marshall Petaluma Rd, Petaluma, CA

So the wedding of my cousin Nancy's son Jeremy was going to last for a whole weekend?

On looking more closely, I saw that there would be an American ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 22 at 2 p.m., followed by a reception at 5, with Dinner, Dancing and a Drum Circle at the fire pit.

On Sunday, Dec. 23, there would be a Tibetan ceremony at 11 a.m., proceeded by breakfast and followed by a celebration brunch.

There was no doubt about it, I was going to go. My beau said he would go with me.

Tibetan and American ceremonies

I got an Airbnb on Stinson Beach, just a few steps from the Pacific Ocean, for three nights before the wedding. Nancy met us for a lunch and a dinner before the wedding. It was special to have that time alone with her. We walked on the beach and took an amazing walk in Muir Woods, climbing to the top of a peak, away from the maddening crowds. For the overnight at the ranch, Nancy reserved a lodge for a bunch of us. In between events, we sat around and talked. It was cozy and fun.

It was great spending time with West Coast cousins that I don't see enough. We miss having Serena on the East Coast but it is so good to see her happy with her sweet baby Goldie, who is cute in photos but even more adorable in person.

During the American ceremony, the bride and bridegroom's dogs watched from inside a dog stroller. One wore a dress and the other, a tuxedo.

I missed Raining Jane on their East Coast tour, so I was glad a got a chance to hear them play at the reception.

The Tibetan ceremony was a condensed version of a lengthy ritual.  Family played a role in laying silk scarves around the wedding party. They wore beautiful silk garments made especially for them. We did a circle dance that reminded me of the hora. There was enough love to go around for two ceremonies.

Also, lots of good food!

The rain held off until our departure day.

Three hours time difference doesn't require much of an adjustment, but that, combined with all the running around, left me feeling kind of tired.

I had two kids home, which perked me up.

Then the other night, Maddie had a seizure. It was incredibly scary. Her jaw and muscles were clenched, and she fell off her spot on the couch onto the floor. Her legs were twitching like crazy, and she was frothing at the mouth. It seemed longer than it probably was. She stopped and got up and started walking around. You could tell she was agitated but basically OK.

Muir Woods and me

Katie and I took her to the emergency vet in Deerfield. Blood work, blood pressure and a few hundred dollars later, she turned out to be OK. The vet said she "allows" a dog to have one seizure without taking any action. If she has more, we don't need to take her to the vet, but we do need to keep track, and then medication might be in her future.

It was a 2 a.m. morning.

This past weekend, two more parties.

One, the always fabulous holiday party at tennis friends Karan and Marianne's house in Springfield. Last night, a Team Fred appreciation pizza party at Joan's house in Florence. Still Fred's, though. 

It was bad timing to be talking to a woman about our dogs because when I told her Maddie's age (12) , she said, "You're living on borrowed time."

I knew her comment reflected her own attachment to her dogs, but it hit me the wrong way. You wouldn't say that about a person's elderly parents. It fed into some of my morbid tendencies. 

Waiting for a crumb at deli

She said she usually has a backup dog to mitigate the pain. I've often thought of getting an extra. But I'm a one-dog parent. I've been attached to all of them but I think I'm especially attached to Maddie because it's often just the two of us. Here is a link to a story I wrote about our bond.

This morning I gave her an extra enthusiastic compliment on her down dog and gave her an extra big hug to start the day. 

I know the drill. Focus on the present. Take a walk. If you worry about the future you're going to miss the present. I have known some old labs. And so on and so forth. Sometimes easier said than done.