This past weekend was my youngest brother Danny’s wedding. He married Heather, a wonderful woman that he has been cohabitating with for a few years and dating even longer. Brian and I traveled to Baltimore for the festivities. It was a quick trip but lots of fun as all things involving my family tend to be – chaotic yes, but definitely fun.
Friday night was the rehearsal dinner at La Tavola, a fab restaurant in Little Italy. Danny had reserved the private dining room so we had lots of opportunity to mingle and catch up with the family. My Aunt Sophia and cousin Michael had made the trip and it was so good to see them. It’s been a very long time. I hadn’t seen the rest of my family since Christmas so there was plenty to catch up on. My niece Emily is getting so grown up it’s frightening. As with all my family’s gatherings, there was much silliness. First, there was the “where do I sit?” fiasco that really became musical chairs. Brian and I ended up sitting at different tables because he must sit next to Emily – he is her favorite uncle – and I wanted to sit with my aunt and cousin. There was much joking that we haven’t been married long enough to not want to sit together. This arrangement put me sitting with my sister Sarah, my aunt, my mother, my cousin and my sister’s husband, Chalmers. Now in case you lost track that is four Greek women – all related – at one table. We had a blast and it definitely got out of control. At one point, Danny, who was being quite the host, wanted my mother and Sophia to give a toast in Greek. We were all yelling out “Opa” and “Ouzo” at what seemed like the appropriate times, but who really knows. Then Sarah yells out “Orzo” at a quiet moment and I look at her and say “That’s Ouzo honey” at which point I just start laughing and so does everyone else. My sister, who is quite the actress, looks accusingly at her husband and asks, “What did you put in my Shirley Temple?” We are all laughing like crazy, Sarah included. Now just in case you are feeling sorry for my sister, don’t. It could have just as easily been me. I’m sure some of you are thinking that it sounds just like something I would do. Besides my family often laughs at and with each other. Life is too short to take it all that seriously after all.
I would like to take a moment to say that my brother Danny was so sweet the whole weekend and so concerned that everyone have a good time and that everything went as planned. My mother and I kept saying how grown up he has become but the truth is that he is 27 and has been grown up for quite awhile. I think it’s hard for me to accept that because he is the baby of the family and I took care of him. Everyone calls him Dan not Danny except for me and Mom. I tried but it just feels wrong. Sorry Danny!
Saturday, Brian and I walked from our hotel to the Inner Harbor with my sister, her husband, her four children (no that’s not a typo) and the nanny. It was such gorgeous weather and there are many nice things about Baltimore as long as you are aware of the dangerous things also. We spent the morning walking around the water; there was some shopping and eating, and a paddleboat ride. It was a fun day!
That’s all I have time for right now – I am off to Orlando in the morning for my half-ironman this weekend. Joey is already there and I can’t wait to see him and get settled in before the race.
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