Wedding Belles

We had a grand time celebrating Dana's wedding to Meghan LeFrancois Hanson last weekend. Three days of partying - and Lynn was in great form! The wedding itself was at a community center overlooking the Puget Sound and Whidbey Island's ferry - perfect weather and a cast of 150 - friends, family, and many kids who had grown up with Dana and/or Meghan as nannies or teachers. The festivities included beach balls, twirling, a Charlie Brown flash mob dance, home brewed beer,  lovely music,  cupcakes of all kinds, and some very special glass plates - gifts from Meghan's parents to all the wedding guests.Official photographs come later but here are a few uploads.

Lynn came home and slept for 4 days! Definitely happy to have been part of this special occasion, and especially pleased that so many family members from all sides were in attendance.

So what's next for us? Upcoming visits from Lynn's Austin friends - Craig Davis, Cicily Sims, Paul Balmouth, and Becky Beaver....into November. We've been sent lots of movies to tickle the funny bone  - some more my style and some more Lynn's. We're reading The Moth podcasts outloud. And we're figuring out how to manage as Lynn becomes weaker and has increasing difficulty getting up and down.

We've signed on to Legacy Hospice - will meet with their team October 1st. Hospice provides home-based care for people with terminal medical conditions. They also have a facility that can be used if necessary. Their work is about controlling symptoms and providing comfort, not about curing.

So, we enter a new phase in this journey. 

Monty Python keeps us laughing

Yesterday was the follow up with my oncology doctor after a CT scan earlier in the week. The scan shows new growths, but we are waiting to hear back from the doctor on whether this means the chemotherapy is still working and how to proceed. The doctor and staff all expressed admiration that I have made it this far - the official diagnosis is to have fun at the wedding this weekend and take lots of pictures. In my opinion, what has helped me get to this day has been humor in how I approach the day, what I listen to, and how often I laugh. My son, Jess, who came to visit three times in August, got me listening to comedy radio programming and we started watching comedies, including the Marx Brothers films.
After my son, Jono, returned from his climbing trip in the Northwest Territories of Canada, he washed his clothes and put on a collared shirt for our trip to Ashland with my brother Fred. Ashland sits at the bottom of I-5, almost on the California border, 4-hrs from here, which has one of the only 9-months long artistic residencies in the US. We rented an oversized Model Ford while Deborah's car was being fixed, which was a boon to our trip, allowing us to carry the wheelchair, baggage and a few grown men without any problems.

The Tempest was great, as was the wonderful sequel to Robert Schenkkan play, "The Great Society" (Robert's nephew, Ben McKenzie is starring in a new show "Gotham" starting on Fox this weekend). I was in stitches during the performance of Cocoanuts, enacted by some great Marx brothers imitators, including some great slapstick and improvised comedy.

Picture from the performance of Cocoanuts

I've had a good number of visitors since our trip to Ashland, including my brother, Jay, my cousin, Brad, and my brother-in-law, Gordon. My friend Garth Corbett is coming at the end of the month and Craig Davis, from Austin, will be here the first few days of October - people continue to visit and I welcome them.
I continue to find humor to be a good addition to my days. We found the Monty Python films another excuse to laugh, and I watched three of them with Jay.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Jono made me suffer through "Point Break," his favorite film of the summer and I don't want to insult Keanu Reeves because he is a federal agent, but the guy cannot act his way out of a paper bag.
The focus now is on the wedding this weekend where our daughter, Dana, is marrying her great partner Meghan.

Jono, Jess and Dana at Jess' wedding in May

I'm looking forward to the wedding and seeing all of my siblings and in-laws. It's pretty amazing how many people are coming together for this event.