Wedding Bells

Travel continued from Des Moines on to Kansas City where our older daughter is still on maternity leave following the birth of their third child in January. Her husband has to be away for extended periods for his work, leaving her alone with a 5 year old, a 3 year old, and a newborn. Even though the two older children are in pre-school/day care, we decided she could use some help.

There weren’t a lot of activities planned, nor were there lists of things to do around the house. Simply taking care of a newborn is time-consuming enough. So aside from taking the older kids to a museum one afternoon, we pretty much stayed at our daughter’s home Monday to Friday and assisted with basics such as meals and laundry.

On Friday I had to return to Des Moines — primarily to collect the clothing we had inadvertently left there, but also to help begin the moving process. That included meeting the realtor, helping fill a trash bin, and doing some painting.

Also Friday, Mary, our daughter, and the three grandkids traveled to Omaha. Mary’s niece would be married Easter weekend, and the festivities were getting underway on Friday evening. I joined the party on Saturday morning, continuing to Omaha from Des Moines.

The wedding was held at a “venue” in Downtown Omaha. The bride’s older brother, armed with mail-order ordination papers, officiated. The bride’s youngest brother, an accomplished oboe player, provided music. A reception followed at the same venue. It was good to see relatives on Mary’s side of the family, especially Mary’s brother and sister-in-law, who hosted us at their Omaha home, while daughter and grandkids stayed with one of her college friends who also live in the city.