Driving, Dancing, and Daring

Last weekend, my husband and I went to a wedding. 

For a lot of people, that might not seem like such a big deal, but for people who have refused to do indoor activities for the two and a half years, it really was. We threw all caution to the wind and didn't wear masks to the ceremony or reception. It felt a tiny bit weird at first, but then it just felt like life in the beforetimes. 

Friday morning and early afternoon was a whirlwind of activity. I needed to get to the grocery store (because I was going with my husband, we needed a full cooler, so I had to buy ice and some travel snacks) and pharmacy, get Hannah's stuff ready to go to her sitter, work out, pack, and get Zelda ready for a weekend on her own. By the time the sitter came to get Hannah, we were ready to go.

We drove to Des Moines, which took us about six hours. In that time, we were listening to a 90s playlist that was curated by Apple and had way too many TOOL songs on it for the likes of me. While Dr. BB was driving, though, I got my texting game on hard and texted all my people.  We stopped at the World's Largest Truck Stop (disappointingly small) where I ate a salad and Frosty from Wendy's and Dr. BB ate out of the cooler.

Saturday morning, we went to the Des Moines Farmers' Market, which was HUGE. It was blocks and blocks long, music everywhere, cool vendors, and tons of people. If you ever find yourself with time to kill on a Saturday morning in Des Moines, go there. It was so cold, though, with a quite crisp wind, and we didn't meander much because we didn't pack for being outside in that type of weather.  

We went back to the hotel and got dressed and then went to the ceremony. The bride looked radiant, the dress was lovely, the flowers were gorgeous, the groom couldn't keep his eyes off the bride, and everyone was so happy. The priest was a lunatic and the homily was rambling and incoherent, but led to lots of catchphrases, including "marriage is like a monastery" and "you wake up every morning with a spark for your spouse." Dr. BB and I definitely dissected this homily for all its insaneness.

THEN WE GOT ICE CREAM. My sister-in-law was there without her kids or husband (for a variety of boring reasons, but who cares? we got to spend time with her alone!) and she went with us. I got a scoop of cherry nut in a waffle bowl and it was everything I had hoped for.  My SIL got a scoop of salted caramel pretzel and said it was also quite good.  Huge thumbs up.

Then we went to the reception. Things started out sedately enough.

Dinner was great, but the cake was not, which was excellent news because I looked like a genius for getting ice cream. The dancing was amazing and I had MISSED getting out there on the dance floor. There were dance props, which was something I'd never heard of before, but is now my obsession. Soon, my SIL and I had our hair tied back, Dr. BB had taken his jacket off, and we were the kind of wedding guests your vendors dread.

No need to out my SIL here. She's great and beautiful.

We drove home the next day with lots of family gossip, an insane homily, and the feeling that maybe, just maybe, we can live normal lives again.  (To complete the food report I ate at Sonic on the way home and Sonic's cherry limeade slush and pretzel twist are sheer fast food perfection.)