Love From Women

I have been at odds with the process of planning a wedding. Because of the scope wedding is a time to reach out and ask for help- both things I have never been comfortable with- it's just the way I am wired emotionally.

I have noticed in my life that in times of sadness and sorrow, those who support you gather around you. Now that I am explicitly living the opposite experience, it remarkable to me how many women have stepped out of the ether with offers of help and support.

On the surface, this will appear to be a wedding with no bridesmaids, but in my heart the list of those who are bolstering me up is long. In no particular order, I'd like to name and thank: Zoe, Mom, Aunt Deb, Theresa, Helen, Ana, Anna, Jeanette, Gina, Victoria, Elyse, Claire, Shira, Liz, Janet, Madeleine, Amy, Rhonda, Rosie for the nurturing and love you have offered in a multitude of ways.

Some of you I have known just a few years - our acquaitance is in its dawn; others, like my friend with Claire (shown above) I have known longer.

From age 1- 6, Claire and I shared the same babysitter in Newtonville, MA. Claire is a year older, so once kindergarten kicked in, we didn't attend the same grades but through about age 6, we continued to be cared for by Mrs. Dean and be friends. When I was 11, I moved away to live with my Dad in Rhode Island and I am not sure when Claire left Massachusetts- also to go live with her Dad in Brooklyn.

My adult memories of Claire ended with me being at her first wedding back in 1992- she and her new husband were moving to Lund, Sweden. And until about sometime in January 2005, that's all I knew of her. Over a decade later, I found her living 20 minutes drive from me, also in the San Francisco Bay Area- in Kensington- with a second husband and two daughters with the man I saw her marry.

On December 31, 2006 Claire and her new husband (also a David!) had a baby boy, Alexander. He will be the only newborn, so to speak, at the wedding.

I do promise when I have more time (post Sunday) that I will pull together a gallery of women who are with me and special to me- your friendships are precious.

For those of you attending the wedding, you will agree with me: after all these years, Claire looks just the same as above (I think I'm 5 or 6 in this picture?). She has not changed, she just has an adult body.

So for all of the women and for all women who do for other women- I humbly wish to say: Thank You.