NOT ASHAMED

I am not at all ashamed to say that I watched the coverage of the royal marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge ALL day yesterday.

I am a gal who has absolute and unabashed faith in romance, fairytales, and happily-ever-afters.

I am also a gal who was raised on, and still adores, every Disney princess movie ever made.


I am also a gal who is a stay-at-home mom to a breastfeeding baby (read: a lot of down time) whose only daytime English-speaking television option is CNN.  I was so happy to have something fun to watch in the days and weeks leading up to the marriage.  I have enjoyed every nanosecond of the coverage.  While, for the most part, I do enjoy regular CNN, I would rather watch stories about the life and love of a beautiful young couple than hour long specials on golf or the Asian stock-market ANY day.

And I love a good wedding.

I will admit that I teared up MANY times as I watched.  In fact, I may have remained teary eyed for large parts of yesterday.  It also all made me think back to own special day only a year ago.  And, while my wedding was, of course, not a royal occasion, nor anything close to what we saw yesterday, I know the magnificent feeling of that day.

I know how it feels to dream and wait and hope and pray and plan and prepare for that day.  I know how it feels when the day arrives when you get to marry the man that you love and the amazing feeling that entails.  I also know how it feels when so many people come to share in that joy and celebrate with you and the spectacular feeling of happiness and warmth that gives you.  It all makes your heart feel so warm and full that you feel it may explode.

I can only imagine how Kate must feel with not just her family and friends sharing in that joy, but an entire nation celebrating her marriage.

As Kate left the hotel with her father and proceeded to the church, it made me think so much of my own dad.  Again, I realize the circumstances are somewhat (ha!) different, but her dad reminded me so much of my dad on my wedding day.  Here is a daddy "giving his daughter away" to not only a man, but to a world that is completely unknown to him.  Like Kate, I was already somewhat absorbed in and familiar with my new world by my wedding day.  But, our dads were not.  Like my dad, many watchful eyes of strangers were upon Kate's dad on the day his little girl got married.  Not only did so many new people watch such a personal time for him, but he was observed as he was thrown into traditions and customs that were both unfamiliar and, really, foreign to him. Poor daddys.

I know it seems really strange to compare my own wedding to that of a future king and queen, but isn't any wedding, at its heart, really just about people "gathering together" to watch a man and a woman who love each other proclaim that love and "join in holy matrimony" with their daddy and their grandmama and their brothers and some cute little girls with flowers in their hair all in attendance?  Kate and William really just did what many of us have already done...gotten married to the one they love.  Only, in their case, the whole world was watching.  And I am so glad they allowed us to watch!


Other than the fact that I love a good wedding, quality entertainment, and a fairytale ending, I think there were some other reasons I was so glad to watch the royal nuptials.

I love the fact that an entire nation came together and united for a happy occasion, rather than because of a tragedy.  How often does good news catch so many people up in its tide?  It was amazing to watch a whole country being so proud and genuinely happy and taking part in a great celebration.  It was reassuring to watch humanity behave in such a manner. 


I also like the idea that William and Catherine are almost exactly my age.  I truly hope that this marriage will last, and one day they will become king and queen.  We will all age together, and, someday, when we are all old and grey I can look back and say to my grandchildren, "I remember the day they got married...when we were all young and beautiful."

Also, in a strange way, since living in Corfu I very much relate to England and English people.  There are many many more English people on this island than American.  I have many English friends, any English language books and magazines that I get my hands on are British, and I buy loads of English products.  All things Bristish are so much more familiar and home-like to me than all things Greek, and England is so much closer than America, that, in many ways I identify a lot now with England.  That is another reason, perhaps, that I was so happy to watch the marriage.  I could almost join in on the national pride. 

And now, a few small observations about the day....

I love how real everyone seemed.  There were several awkward moments where even the royals and the couple of the day did not quite know where to stand or how to act or what to do with their face with the camera watching them, and I loved that it all seemed so human and so relatable.

I love that the queen wore such a bright and vibrant color (she wore a daffodil yellow) rather than something pale and subdued.  It made her seem so glad to be attending the wedding of her grandson.


I have to say that, while I love the tradition, as well as the entertainment value of the hats, there is absolutely no way I could carry off wearing one of those crazy creations on my own head.  I would look absurd.  I also have to say that, should one of those large and elaborate creations adorn the head of the lady in front of me, between my own head and my view of the altar, I would not be a happy camper. 


I think the royal couple are fantastic, and I really enjoyed watching them interact with one another.  They seem to really relate to one another, feel comfortable together, and make a wonderful team.  I hope that their wedding day was as beautiful for them as it was for all of us, and I hope that it was the start of a beautiful and happy life together.

I also have to add that the day was made all that much better because of the fact that I got to watch it all with my own little princess.

 

I cannot wait to tell her one day all about how we shared a beautiful, sunny April day together watching a real fairytale royal wedding.

Last, please continue to pray for my home state of Alabama and its surrounding states.  The devastation from the tornadoes last week there is unimaginable, and the loss of lives, homes, and property is truly tragic.  Prayers are very much in order.