Once upon a time...there was a man, his name was Brian. He fell in love and proposed to a woman named Marcy. They planned a beautiful wedding in the great state of Texas. I, being a close friend of the groom, was invited to this momentous occasion. I received the invitation in September for the October 29th wedding and since my boyfriend was not sure of his work schedule, I invited my sister to go with me. This would mean a few flights and a 4 day mini-vacation in San Antonio, Texas.
This was going to be a totally different trip than the trips of our youth. First of all, there would be no parents to monitor us. We were going to be completely unsupervised!! This could go several different ways and bail money might be involved, but the plans were made anyway.
Don't get me wrong, I love my sister, and I'm pretty sure she loves me, but we haven't spent 4 days alone together since....um...well...ever. I was actually looking forward to this and so was she. I spent the night at her place the night before the trip and we set off for the airport at 4am the next morning. When she suggested the timing I kinda thought she was nuts. As it turned out it worked out perfect. We made it through security with no problems and I was almost disappointed that I didn't get felt up by a TSA agent.
We made our connecting flights, our baggage fit in the overhead compartments, we didn't have to put up with misbehaving children or overbearing seatmates. Our traveling went amazingly well.
I wasn't sure what to expect at the wedding festivities, but my sister and I were treated like members of the groom's family. We were called the 'plus twos' because I was like a bonus family member and Kris was MY plus one. We were at the rehearsal dinner, the wedding, the reception and the brunch the day after. It was like a family reunion for a family that we didn't even know we had.
Things I learned in San Antonio:
1. Boy, those Texans do love their turnarounds and one way streets.
2. If you're getting on the highway, you best do it fast because you will get run over.
3. If I think I'm going the right way, the GPS says I'm going the right way and my sister tells me to take the next turnaround and go back... DON'T DO IT.
4. According to my sister. I snore. Loudly.
5. Without the distractions of children and husbands and significant others, my sister and I genuinely like each other for the people we've become.
When all was said and done the trip was a huge success. I got to see a treasured friend celebrate his love with a marriage ceremony, I can now truthfully say 'I remember the Alamo.' and I got to know my little sister a little bit better. I think mom would have liked that.
