Friday, May 27, 2005

It was a wonderful wedding; simple in its ornateness, yet profound in its content. It's been awhile since I've attended a wedding, so it was nice to witness the union of my niece Christine and her husband Eric this past weekend. And although I could speak at lengths of the wedding (its beauty and uniqueness), there was a moment that I will remember for some time.

My seven-year-old son Leo was given the rare privilege of being the ring bearer for this wedding and as he completed his duties and returned back to the church pew where we were sitting, the moment began...

Looking across and down at my son Leo, I wondered where the years had gone; those years that spanned late night rockings, diapers, scraped knees, first words, running, kindergarten... It was only yesterday that I would lie him down on my chest while watching X Files and he would sleep soundly throughout the entire show. And now, here he was sitting next to me in a junior tuxedo, looking like a youthful James Bond.

I looked further down the pew and caught the eye of my brother-in-law. Actually, he didn't see me observing him for his daughter was exchanging her vows at that moment. And directly behind him was my father-in-law; a man who in his twilight years has been given the responsibility of caring for his ailing wife.

It was at that moment that I witnessed the collective stages of my personal journey - past, present and future. Where had the years gone from my youth? Here I sat as the father of a seven-year-old and 20-month-old triplets watching my niece being wed. And in the blink of an eye, I will be that brother-in-law watching his daughter(s) exchange her vows. Blink again and I may very well be the fortunate grandfather who is sitting behind his son and next to his wife; for better or for worse, in the his twilight years. All it takes is a blink, my friend, and Life takes it fleeting path through your life.

I left the wedding ceremony with a renewed sense of urgency; an urgency to become even more involved in my children's and wife's life. To really try and live in the moment of today - to be present in this very day and not allow tomorrow's worries borrow from today's riches.

For many, attending a wedding allows each person to capture a renewed sense of youthful love. For me, this time, it was a renewed sense of youthful "now" - to live only for the "now." Soon enough I will be finding myself on the other end of the pew... but not today.