After a while, I feel there are only so many times you can discuss whether the invitations should be horizontal or vertical; whether the little things that call themselves my cousins would wear jackets, or if they would take them off halfway down the aisle; or which room my grandparents would stay in after the night of the wedding
All this idle chit chat about weddings, does make me think back to previous family occasions. I don't really remember all of them, but I get reminded of the stories that make me look stupid frequently, and I have photographs to aid my memory. It's like when mum's distant/long-lost relation came to visit us from Canada. Upon arrival on our doorstep, her husband proclaimed "Marcelle, I haven't seen you for so long! Last time I met you, you were running around saying "Daddy, I don't want to do that" in a very precise tone of voice!" At this point, it was my job to smile sweetly, politely tell him that, no, I couldn't recall the occasion, and wonder what on earth I was going to say to the man who would be spending the next few days in my house. .
When I was one, I was bridesmaid for the first time. I"m not really sure what the relation is, but there is a family link somewhere along the line. It was only a few weeks before my second birthday, so although I am quite sure that in my eyes I was old, and ready to tackle the world, I"m sure in everyone else's eyes I most certainly was not. I think my father agreed with this point of view entirely, as he did not trust me to walk the whole length of the aisle without making a fool of myself. In order to prevent such a dreadful occurrence, he gave the older and therefore wiser bridesmaid, who would hold onto me on our little trek down the aisle, a box of tic-tacs. The idea was that every time I opened my mouth, the other bridesmaid would pop in a tic-tac, to keep me happy, and to make sure that no offensive noises came out of my mouth.