Family is NOT Always a Blessing.

As a bride-to-be, I was expecting to be given a Bridal Shower. Initially, my grandmother's sister, Aunt Kathy, volunteered to throw one for me. I was really happy to have her in charge of this event because both of her daughters, my cousins Katie and Kelly, both got married this past year so Aunt Kathy was practically an expert, in my mind. We started making our arrangements, buying invitations, planning on what needed to be bought, formalizing the guest list, etc. My Bridal Shower was set for October 11, 2008, and earlier this week, I find out that Aunt Kathy is apparently "just not up to such a chore". !!!!
I was totally devastated and enraged. I could not believe that she would betray me like that; and less than two full weeks before the date of the shower. I tried to find another venue to host the shower at myself, but little did I know how expensive a rented space would be. On top of that, most venue's in Shreveport have a contract with a caterer so that you cannot bring in any outside food and are forced to agree to pay the outrageous price per person that the caterer demands. Needless to say, my hopes of a wonderful Garden Tea Party a la the Mad Hatter from Alice and Wonderland will not be happening. To top it off, apparently no one else in my family has stepped in and taken over for my aunt. Not a single person in my family has decided that my wedding shower is enough of a priority to host one upon my behalf. I swear, I could almost disown the whole lot of them. What kind of a family cannot even muster up enough consideration for one of their own like this? I am very hurt by my Aunt Kathy. I've decided that if I never speak to her again, I'll be fine and dandy. In fact, I have half a mind not to even invite her to the reception. I mean, how lazy of a person is she?! I did not ask for anything extravagant; I just wanted a quaint, outdoor shower with tea, cookies, and Red Velvet cupcakes. She tried to use the excuse that she didn't have the money to be throwing me such a lavish shower, but seriously, how much do cookies and cupcakes really cost? I even volunteered to make them myself if money was such an issue. And considering that both of her daughters had upwards of three Bridal Shower's EACH, I really do not see how asking for one makes me a Bridezilla. I think she just changed her mind and decided that since I wasn't her kid that hurting my feelings wouldn't matter that much.
It took me all week to recover from this slap in the face. I really had a very hard time gaining some perspective about this whole shower thing. I had to finally realize that what matters when getting married is the commitment, the vows, and of course, the honeymoon. Thankfully, since we are flying away to the British Virgin Islands to a private island called, no joke, Pusser's Marina Cay, and have arranged for their wedding coordinator to take care of the ceremony details that, in the end, I will be getting the perfect wedding. We are set to say our vows at sunset atop a gorgeous panoramic vista of the Caribbean, complete with a flower petal aisle and live steel drum musicians. We are going to say vows that we've written ourselves and be able to share a moment of love and commitment with each other that far surpasses anything my Aunt Kathy's girls had at their ho-hum church weddings. I have decided to focus on how lucky and blessed I am to have found such a wonderful man to marry. I am now making a sincere effort to let go of my anger towards my aunt; however, even the best intentions often take time to achieve. I cannot say that I will ever truely forgive her for ruining this rite of passage as a Bride-to-Be for me, but I do hope that my children never know such dreaded disappointment doled out to them from the hands of their own family members.

As always, thanks for reading and take care.
The Cajun Haole
(aka the soon to be)
Mrs. Courtney Nelson