ONE HUNDRED YEARS

To say I blinked and now we’re here would be to disregard all the living that happened in between.

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 We’ve come to the land of 10,000 lakes—of Chevy trucks and shantys rolled out on frozen water to reel in Walleye Salmon, and Perch through hundreds of holes drilled into 12” thick ice.

Our family’s purpose for being here is a catch of an altogether different kind, that is, a blue-eyed, blonde who grew up in this snow-covered wonderland, dreaming of one day marrying someone like this freckle-faced, blue-eyed boy, now thirty-three year old man.

As you sip your Saturday morning latte, imagine me rising before sunrise in a fireplace warmed cottage nestled in the tall pines. We are writing our own tender version of a Hallmark movie set at the century-old Grandview Lodge.

Although it could have easily been chosen for its beauty, this is no random venue, but the favorite Summer Place for the teenage version of the Bride-to-Be.

This is the place made of childhood magic, where a little girl imagined, hoped, believed.

I feel her everywhere. In the being here I understand her, learn about her, love her just a little more. And the synergies between our son and his forever mate are evident and everywhere—their taste for adventure, shared nostalgia, passion for the great outdoors.

For the next three days Ron and I will be enveloped in the affection of a devoted family and lifetime friends, here to bless the union of two strong, independent people who have found the person they can count on no matter what may be.

Along every meandering pathway, permeating each minute we’ve been here, there is this sense of provenience surrounding us: As if the story of a boy and girl becoming man and wife, has been deeply rooted, like the towering pines, in this sacred space from the beginning.

NOTES:

There’s just something about a white chapel in the woods. Simple. Elegant. Timeless in every way. This is where Cameron and Mia will say their “I Do’s,” in the place where a little girl imagined and played, now the place of dreams come true.

I'm thirty-three for a moment, I'm still the man, but you see I'm of age.
Kids soon on the way, babe, a family on my mind. There’s never a wish, better than this, when you’ve only got one hundred years to live [adapted verse from 100 Years, Five for Fighting, Mother/Groom Dance song]