I’m OK!

When my brother first asked if Nolin would serve as the ring bearer for his wedding, I immediately knew he would ham it up. I did warn my brother though that he would either be totally on or totally off. Either way, isn’t that what the ring bearer is supposed to do?

My dad had been really looking forward to Thursday evening because he had decided that before we got wrapped up in wedding activities we would do something fun with the kids…which apparently was going to Chuck E. Cheese. He wanted to make sure that it would be a good place for the kids, so he checked it out before hand. I had to inform my dad, that typically grown men should not go to scope out Chuck E. Cheese by themselves.

It was packed, the kids had fun, but to be honest most of the games were a little too old for both of them. After browsing the pizza selection and the all you can eat salad bar, we decided to head somewhere else a little less hectic and more appetizing for dinner.

The next day we hung out and got ready for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. As soon as we arrived, Nolin immediately found Maggie, the flower girl, and held her hand. They were pretty inseparable.

The dinner was at a nice restaurant, but we had a private room and there were nice open areas, where the kids entertained themselves and could dance to the piano player.

Finally the big day arrived.

Nolin fell asleep shortly before the boys left to get ready at my brother’s house. Unfortunately he didn’t get a full nap and was a little wired once we arrived. It took me a while to get him dressed, but he did think that his tux shirt was “awesome”. After Nolin was dressed, I realized…this kid was meant to wear a tux. He looked sharp.

As we waited for the wedding to start, it took a small army to keep Nolin in one place and out of the water…pretty much what you should expect from a 3-year-old boy.

Although it was a rainy weekend, the weather cleared long enough to have the wedding outside. My dad and I left before Nolin & Maggie, so I held my breath as I saw them approaching the center aisle.

Both kids looked awesome as they approached. Maggie had been told not to dump all the flowers at the first seat, so she was very methodical placing one petal at a time (all-in-all about 6 petals were dropped in total). Nolin was a man on a mission and made his way down the aisle with his ring security box. He made it to the front perfectly (an internal sigh of relief) and then decided it was time to turn around and run to play (an internal stomach drop).

I knew I had to try to discreetly get him so there was not a scene, when all the sudden I heard a thud and a crash as the ring security box hit the ground (don’t worry no rings were harmed). Apparently it was a pretty good fall because the audience was silent and everyone looked very nervous as they saw Nolin sprawled out on the ground.

A few seconds passed without movement…then Nolin hopped up and eagerly shouted “I’m OK!”…and with that he did what a ring bearer is supposed to do create comic relief for the wedding.

He made it through part of the ceremony and then he and Grace made their way with Jenn. After the ceremony, picture time was interesting because the sand pits of the golf course were decidedly more fun, then posing and smiling. But when it was time to be on, both the kids rose to the occasion.

I was already exhausted and the reception had not even started. Once the music began though, Nolin was in heaven. As I was talking to a friend, one of the guests tapped me on the shoulder and said have you seen the dance floor?

I turned around to find about 20 women in a circle and Nolin in the middle. With his legs spread out enough to give him good bounce momentum, his hand in the air fake snapping to the beat and a huge smile, he had become the mayor of the dance floor and he was in heaven.

It would turn out to be another late night, and Grace fell asleep as I held her for about an hour. With her head on my shoulder, I danced with one of the most beautiful girls at the wedding and was able to relax and take in, just how nice (albeit hectic) this entire weekend had been.

Weddings aren’t the same as they were right out of college with a one and three-year old, but with a great wife, great family and two great kids, I knew that no matter what…“I’m OK”.