Leap Year Celebration

Leap Year has always been significant enough to be the year for the presidential election, but it holds many historical events – to list a couple:

• 1940: Actress Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to win an Academy Award. Hattie McDaniel won Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mammy in “Gone with the Wind.”
• In 1964, Princess Alexandra of Kent gave birth to a son, James Ogilvy, on Leap Day. The baby is believed to be the first royal baby in history born on February 29. 

However, the event that will always remain in my heart on Leap Year is the wedding between my wonderful daughter, Kristin, and a great man, Steven Baxter – but let’s start at the beginning… 

Our morning started when the alarm went off at 5 a.m. – Dan and I flew out of Escanaba on the morning of 26th to Detroit for a three-hour layover. As we were landing, I mentioned to Dan that it was snowing. Now, mind you, I’ve survived a winter in Upper Michigan, so seeing snow isn’t a big deal – unless you need to fly home for an important date. My stomach tensed up, thinking about sitting in a terminal for three hours watching the runway get worse and wondering if flights would start getting axed. I checked the status board – pretty much every chance I could. The days were on the countdown, and I wanted to be at my daughter’s wedding more than anything. It should be no surprise to those that know me that I was already mentally reviewing the movie Trains, Planes, and Automobiles to see if I was going to have to get creative. Fortunately, Detroit is an excellent airport, and we boarded on time. We remained in line on the runway for our turn to be de-iced, but before long, we were off the ground and heading to Seattle for a funfilled event. We enjoy a beautiful sunset flying into Seatac, landing as expected at just past 6 p.m. ready for a glass of wine – or on my part anyhow.   

When the big day came, everything fell into place without a hitch – not an easy feat for a wedding, but it happened, and their day was terrific. To see my baby girl so truly happy does something deep inside your soul. We love these great people, and all four of the children their family is made up of now. As Dan enjoyed the honor of walking his last daughter down the aisle, we were soon listening as they committed their lives to each other, blending their two beautiful families. And, for a fun fact, they will be married for eight years before they are even out of the two-year honeymoon stage since they only have an anniversary every four years. These two people have the most excellent sense of humor and fun in life – which will keep them young, with happy hearts and minds.

Kristin was more than just beautiful; she was stunning. Steven’s reaction when she walked down the aisle said it all. Because it was an intimate setting, we were able to hear the vows they wrote to each other. The words spoken were beautiful and heartfelt, with their added funny moments as they radiated a love few couples have – leaving each of us in attendance knowing they have something extraordinary. I am still in awe of how wonderful an event it was, and will treasure the day always.  

We stayed with two of our grandkids while Kristin and Steven enjoyed a honeymoon. When the happy couple returned home, Dan and I spent another week at my sisters. The two weeks went by too fast, and before I knew it, we were heading back to Michigan. But not by plane, this time we were driving back with my Toyota with the last of our stored items. 

 We did have plans to visit more families on our trip back, but as you can imagine, the virus decided for us. Though I couldn’t help being somewhat concerned about staying in hotels and eating in restaurants, sometimes you do not have a choice. We had about three hair-raising days driving on icy roads and snowy weather, but finally, the weather broke, and the last two days were clear roads ahead. 

I don’t want this blog to be about the virus – we are all living it together. That said, I do have to say this is likely the first time I can say I’m grateful to be an introvert.