September

I love September. That would be why I chose to get married in September. Now that it's here again, I've been thinking a lot about where I was and what I was doing this time last year.

When I remember last year, I always thank God that my life is so much more stable now. Late August was almost too much to bear last year. We were coming down to the wire with wedding plans, I was starting the school year as a teacher in the church's school for the first time, and people were calling me for piano lessons left and right. And my piano schedule was like a jigsaw puzzle where the picture on the box was constantly changing. I had moved out of my old place, so I had to teach at a combination of church and people's homes until Erich and I got a piano for our place, where I did not yet officially live. On top of that, I was preparing all of my students for my name change, which I was barely getting used to myself.

Again, I love September and could not have asked for a better wedding, but in retrospect, it might have been much better for my mental health to have gotten married in the spring.

Life is a bit crazy again this year. I'm not teaching a school choir, but I do have about 18 piano students and I'm directing the handbell choir at church, which is just getting started. But compared to last year with the wedding plans, this is total cake. So with the extra time I have left I've been doing what I love best: reminiscing!

We really did have an awesome wedding. And we had a great band who played at the reception! The drummer of the band, the Endless Knights, cuts my dad's hair and keeps him informed of the band's upcoming gigs. My dad, wisely, has never promised to be there. (I'm sure the wedding gig made up for my dad's lack of attendance at other gigs.) But ever since the wedding we have tried to go out to see them, Erich and me and my parents, and we could never make it work until this past Friday, when we went out to see them play at a local pub.

They surpassed even my best memory of them. In my opinion, they embody everything that's good about secular music. The band consists of five people: drummer, keyboardist extraordinaire, bassist, female vocalist, and guitarist/lead vocalist. They're not much to look at: they're all 50-somethings with day jobs, but they are all skilled musicians who obviously love to play. Their style is what I consider to be just perfect for a wedding: they play mostly classic rock but a little bit of everything and they're very easy to dance to. After their first set break, they started rifling through music and found a tango to try to entice Erich and I to get up and dance. So how could we say no, especially with a little "liquid confidence" in our systems?

Remember our wedding tango? Remember??? Here it is again, in case you forgot:



Our tango on Friday night was not nearly so good. But it was fun! And they played a few swing numbers later, to which we also danced.

I really enjoyed the chance to enjoy listening to the band and dancing. I had hoped to do more of that at my wedding, but there were just too many great people to talk to. This felt like a perfect way to remember and supplement our wedding festivities. And we'll definitely get out to see the Endless Knights again sometime.