Caroline was asked to be a flower girl in a wedding. It was sweet Kelsey Stubbs (now Cordell). Kelsey has babysat for us since C was born. I have had the opportunity to mentor Kelsey for a while...it is a sweet relationship. Anyway, we have practiced and gotten ready...but oh what I experienced couldn't have prepared me for what I felt that night.
We did all the hoopla that a wedding should have...the rehearsal dinner (you'll see the pic w/ her adorned in her hoopla that the bride got for her) she instantly became 16 I am pretty sure. Then the next day she decided that she wanted to wear her tutu (that Kelsey also got her) to arrive at the wedding in...hilarious...then she got dressed...and from here on out I was so impressed with our girl.
She did a lot of waiting around like you do when you are in a wedding. Never did I hear a complaint, or a whine...never...she chose to behave w/ respect to those asking things of her, when the rain moved the wedding indoors and she had to roll with it...she did...then came the time for me to leave her upstairs w/ the girls, and make my way downstairs to sit w/ Jason and await her arrival. I told her I was going downstairs and was she ok. She said she was. I was nervous...not because I was afraid for her, or wanting her to be perfect...I just kept telling her all weekend to have fun...but here is what I came to realize. I had my first proud parent moment. You see, it was the first time that I became an observer of her life. I wasn't in control...she was...I had no say in how she did "it"...what happened was this...all the girls walk down, the music is building, and I see her little white bow above the tops of peoples heads...walking slowly...then she turns the corner with the most gorgeous calm smile on her face and she was tossing those petals, and walking, and smiling...she's never done a thing in front of people...I mean truly you never know what you're going to get w/ a flower girl...right...we've all seen them loose it...never make it down the aisle...but for me...it wasn't the perfection that she gave walking down the aisle that I was so proud of...but w/ tears streaming down my face I was observing my daughter make a choice w/ how she wanted to behave, treat others, step up to the plate at game time and deliver, then wait w/ grace even longer for that darned cake! I was just so proud of her. To top it all off, as the wedding is happening - vows are being said - she realizes that she still has all these petals in her basket, what to do. Jason just tells her to drop them on her way back out at the end. And so she does...it was great. Enjoy the pics of our little lady.
