We are back from a whirlwind trip to Salt Lake City, where Tommy and Camille were married in a lovely small sunny outdoor ceremony, with such sweet and meaningful vows exchanged! They are beginning their lives on such strong footing, all four parents are just overjoyed about this match.
Later that day Camille's family put on the most fun reception, in a beautiful setting, with food and dancing. Just so much joy in the room. We will eagerly await the official photos but here are a few snapshots:
A moment with siblings before the ceremony:
Cami (left), Kaela's bestie growing up, lives in Utah and helped Kaela with Charlotte (Flower Girl!) the entire day!
Chatting with Camille's Mom Suzi,
The night before we hosted a casual rehearsal dinner with immediate family and grandparents, at Oasis Cafe in Salt Lake City. It was so fun to hear some childhood stories and just get to know each other better.
One sweet highlight was Charlotte finally meeting my step mother Denise - "GGma" ! She flew in from Denver.
Tommy's friends (from when we lived in Tokyo for his 8th and 9th grade years) came from NYC and Philadelphia for the wedding! Alex, Toby, Tommy, Kenta.
And Tommy's childhood bestie Jacob attended as well!
At the reception when it came time to dance, Charlotte was ready!
A few dear friends from our Massachusetts years attended the reception:
Camille left and changed into this fabulous sequined jumpsuit half way through the dancing portion of the reception!
We all missed Joe for sure. He's doing well, day by day improving but the pain is still a factor and he's nowhere near ready to work or fly. Keenan helped Kaela and Charlotte on the flight to SLC, and David and I helped her on the way home. The baby twins stayed home as well.
I wish I had taken more snapshots but of course I was "in the moment."
In other news..... back in North Carolina....
Thank you to everyone who left a thoughtful encouraging comment on my last post! Everyone is doing a little or a lot better day by day... Joe, Ina, and Kaela (and to some extent Charlotte) each on a different, individual track to healing. I believe Kaela has the hardest part, even though her physical injuries are minor, because she was awake and aware of the whole accident and its aftermath. It's like she was a first responder, but with no training, and no notice, totally in shock and dealing with her own precious family. The more we analyze what happened, the more we feel certain that there were angels attending the scene, and we realize the miracle it is that the injuries weren't so much worse, and that everyone in the van survived.
Kaela had a major (but quiet, and we whisked her away quickly, and Noelle helped her through it) PTSD panic attack just at the tail end of the wedding reception, when we formed two lines and lit sparklers. Something about the smell and sight of those sparklers brought her right back to the fear and terror of the accident. She's in physical therapy and PTSD therapy, and I just wish I could take this burden away from her! It's good that Joe and Ina do not remember the accident after impact, but Kaela is very alone in dealing with this trauma.
The wedding weekend was a joyful respite (mainly because we are all just in love with Tommy's bride Camille!). We got back late Sunday night, and then yesterday Kaela and I visited Ina in the hospital rehab. It's been a month and she is doing very well and is flying home to Italy tomorrow. She will have a lot of support on the flight, with a nurse accompanying her the whole way, and flying business class. We will all miss her. She's anxious to return home to her Mom and sister.
Kaela is wearing her back brace most of the time. Ina does well with crutches and can move into wheelchair and into bed, etc. herself.
Meanwhile just today Kaela "matched" with another au pair, this time from France. This is great news because it is quite a time consuming process to find a new au pair and both the family and the au pair need to "match" and feel great about it all. Pauline will arrive late summer, we hope!
Sorry no quilt-y content.... someday I will get back to it! Thank you again for your supportive comments, they meant so much.
xo
Cynthia
