The Pinup Girl was planning on putting together a book of letters from female relatives to Grownup Girl, but it turns out not everyone takes an essay-writing assignment as seriously as I do. Then I was going to use my best handwriting and put it on beautiful paper, but in a shocking turn of events, I never had time to do that. Or, let's be honest, the energy. I mentioned blogging it and she said, "Go ahead, I always read it."
I'm posting this on Father's Day, because my mojo is still not focused on writing, but is rather encouraging me to binge-watch Arrested Development. Season 3, Episode 11 baby!
Plus, our home would not be what it is without Mr. Fix-it. He is kind and generous and the hardest-working person I know. Seriously. It's starting to get on my nerves, because I look like a slacker alongside him, but on the other hand, he gets sh*t done. He doesn't penny-pinch on vacation, either.
When I first thought of doing a slide show for the wedding*, I knew that Phillip Phillip’s song, “Home, “ would be part of the soundtrack. The building of a home together is, at the core, what marriage is about. As with planning and erecting the physical manifestation of a home, the more deliberate thought you give to what you want it to look like, the likelier you are to be happy with the result.
A common vision of what you want your marriage and the resulting home to be is fundamental to the successful marriages I observe—and I am lucky to be part of a community that values family and home as one of the most enduring things we have in life.
Home to me is warmth, comfort, love, and support. It is people who want the best for you as you want the best for them. I’m not the first (and certainly far from the best) writer to contemplate and attempt to summarize “home.”
Robert Frost: Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.
Pliny the Elder: Home is where the heart is.
Oliver Wendell Holmes: Where we love is home -- home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.
I see in you, Brittany and Jon, that you both understand home—and the combination of love and work building a happy one requires—and that this wedding is formalizing what you already have—a partnership based on love, respect and mutual goals.
This moment in your lives truly epitomizes this quote from Henry David Thoreau. It is often mocked as overused, but sometimes something is so well said there is no point in trying to say it better. It was on the card my mother gave to us on our wedding day, so it seems even that much more apropos.
“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”
I feel blessed that I will be able to see the two of you do the work—work filled with love and laughter—as you build the home that will house you and your family for the rest of your lives.
No matter what travails you encounter—and we all have those—always keep in your hearts the love and joy for one another that has brought you to this place, the threshold of your forever home.
Love,
Mom
Oh I LOVE this so much. It brought tears to my eyes. (I know, shocker!)
They certainly do have good examples of family and home in front of them. Wishing them the best in everything.
Posted by: Busy Bee Suz | June 16, 2013 at 09:08 AM
It got a little dusty here too. Love this!
Posted by: lanes | June 16, 2013 at 02:05 PM
Beautiful!
Posted by: Smalltown Me | June 16, 2013 at 02:12 PM
What a beautiful letter! With Mr. Fix-It as example of what a man can and should be, I have no doubt that Brittany and Jon will do well.
Posted by: Karen (formerly kcinnova) | June 17, 2013 at 12:30 AM
Your kids are off to a solid start--great foundation with the things that really matter. I hope they print this out;)
Posted by: Green Girl in Wisconsin | June 17, 2013 at 11:41 AM
This is so beautiful! No wonder the others didn't complete their assignment - they were too intimidated by your writing!
Posted by: Jen | June 17, 2013 at 02:45 PM