9/22/09 On our cross country travels, we stopped in Kansas City, KS to have dinner with Patricia! We wanted to share the pic with those in the light!! We had a wonderful time, it was heartwarming to catch up, have Bear and Patricia meet and to know how much Hoffman has changed our lives. Patricia was radiant and a good time was had by all!!

Mini-reunion on Roosevelt Island

Brian was hobbling (ask him about his "toe hook"; he wouldn't let me take a picture, the meanie!). Nan had to get back to work. They both had to leave before the Integration Ceremony (that is, picture-taking) at the Meditation Steps.

Bobi traveled for, like, eight hours to attend. Ryan was about to start an exciting new gig. Jami was avoiding her work.

Funny how our voices sound more familiar than the voices of friends we've known for years.

It was a beautiful day.

Here's a photo from the wedding as promised. I'm the one wearing white. I love this picture. It's hard to believe it was taken by the Justice of the Peace and it was one of two shots taken. I'll certainly be proud to display this for years to come. The beautiful bouquet was provided by none other than Anne Koplinka-Loehr.

Getting to this moment was a little hairy. We drove all afternoon in traffic to meet Anne (Annie) for dinner in Brattleboro, Vermont. Our plan was to sleep at the inn Anne book for us. We'd get a good night's sleep, be fresh for the wedding and hopefully be the first in line at the county clerks office. Staying over-night in Brattleboro we also avoided driving from Brooklyn to Montreal in one day. It's about nine hours of driving.

We went to a lovely restaurant that Anne had selected. Annie was a super pal through all of this. We sat in an emclosed patio area outside. I had just finished a juice cleanse so, I had cucumber and avocado that the waiter didn't want to serve. During the meal (as I watched Annie and Chris eating) it occurred to me that I had left my passport and birth certificate in Brooklyn. We had to cut the dinner short, cancel our hotel in Brattleboro and drive back to Brooklyn that night. It was looking like the wedding might have to be postponed. ARGH!

We drove back to Brooklyn (I did most of the driving...too fast!) and arrived at midnight. It was then I discovered that I'd lost my camera; a pretty serious pro-sumer job that Chris had given me when he was still a VP at Citibank, before we were church mice. That was a big disappointment as was knowing we'd need to be up in five hours to do the three-plus-hour drive for the third time in less than a day.

It wasn't five hours later. It was more like six and a half. We over-slept and didn't leave Brooklyn until nearly 7:00 am, which meant rush hour traffic for most of the drive. Traffic out of Brooklyn after losing our way to I-95; traffic into Connecticut (including New Haven and Hartford); traffic through Springfield, Mass. I had plenty of darkside messages on the road. "Maybe this is a sign!" Chris did his best to keep me calm and focused on the road. We had wanted to avoid a long day of driving. It would be nearly eleven hours of driving before we even said "I do!"

We thankfully arrived back in Brattleboro at a little later than 10:30 am. Once we were in Brattleboro things went smoothly; like a dream. in fact. We were greeted with smiles at the Municipal Building, where we were the first to use the new marriage certificate forms. I called my dad as I was filling out my portion to double check his place of birth. That was special; being able to call my dad to ask a casual question and not feel awkward talking to him. It was a kind of symbolic giving away...er...applicant number 1. We had the license in five minutes and were married before the stroke of noon. The darkside was at bay for the ceremony and for most of the honeymoon.

Peace and light all!

Reg