Its a Wedding !!!!
In just over a week our youngest will be married to her lovely man...she has organised the bagpipes to play just as her sister did when she married three years ago - in honour of their dad. It was all I could do when I heard them play not to cry - but I did it - although the lump in my throat took some will power to get rid of.

He is the nicest person - with enough of the devil in him to make him good fun - the good thing is when they are together its like they always were -I was lucky enough to see Alison when she tried on the wedding dress and she was so beautiful it made me cry - as with Melissa - I know there is a lot of hype about weddings - but when its your own children its different - like one of the passages of life...and we mark these passages - joyful as with birth; sad when they leave home - but happy as well. Weddings - happy and then for those of us older there is the growing old (not yet!!) and then the parting when death comes - all important and have been for humanity for thousands of years - so a few tears to see my daughters in the wedding dress - is okay - they are bittersweet .
The two sisters together - Melissa will be Ali's bridesmaid - and although I haven't seen her dress yet I think its very bright - she got it by mail order from the US - and it only arrived the other day - and needs a bit of an adjustment...but I have no doubt it will be sooo Melissa - she has never turned out in anything that didn't make me smile - she is more like her two grandmothers this way - loving the bright colours no matter what - and she gets away with it.


And Alison and I - I get to do the Dad thing and walk with her down the aisle - Don and I were both planning on doing that anyway - he wanted us both to do it - so in a way we both will be doing it because as with melissa I have no doubt but that he will be there with us all day long.

I have written a short speech for the wedding and at the end of it an Irish wedding blessing,




"Sláinte! (It's a lawn chair) This is Gaelic for "To your health!”
May the Lord keep you in His hand And never close His fist too tight.

May you have warm words on a cold evening,
A full moon on a dark night,
And the road downhill all the way to your door.
May you live as long as you want,
And never want as long as you live.
May the saddest day of your future be no worse

Than the happiest day of your past.
May there be a generation of children
On the children of your children.
May you live to be a hundred years,
With one extra year to repent!

May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light,
May good luck pursue you each morning and night."