When 6:00 a.m. rolled around, I figured it was worthless to try and sleep in half-hour intervals, so I sat up in bed, alone in my big hotel suite and posted on Facebook, “turning into one of those people who can’t sleep in hotels.” It wasn’t more than 5 minutes before my friend Amy responded, “I am awake!” So I drove down to Friend HQ and picked her up. I paid for a bed and breakfast for 2 people, so 2 people would have breakfast!
It was a nice way to start the day as we sat in the breakfast room at the Oxford House, chatting about the day to come and keeping a wary eye on the weather. It was a fairly chilly morning for Labor Day weekend, and clouds dominated the sky. I was really nervous about how the weenie roast and canoe trip would go if it was cold and cloudy, but the weather in Maine is ever-changing, so I just kept my fingers crossed.
The Canoers were supposed to meet at 10:00 sharp at Saco Bound. But at 9:50, I was in Amy’s bathroom at Friend HQ plucking my eyebrows and cursing myself for being so forgetful about my own appearance. After the group of about 30 signed all of the proper paperwork, got themselves over to the canoe drop point and finally got in the river, it was probably 11:15.
Meanwhile, my Mom was running around the grocery store with 2 carts in tow, trying to pick up everything we needed for the next 2 days. Dad and the Uncles were at the weenie roast site, making some last minute preparations. Additionally, non-canoers who wanted to attend the roast were showing up at the Farmhouse, trying to figure out how to get down to the site.
The beers flowed freely on the River, as they always do, and I was having a great time. Dan, the dogs and I were kicking back in our canoe checking out the scenery along the river, and noting how Irene had changed it all. Like an idiot, I forgot my waterproof camera, so I don’t have any pictures from the canoe portion of the day, but it was shaping up nicely.
We did have to paddle a bit, because in my head there was a very strict timeline and I wanted to be sure that I didn’t miss anything. Pulling into the beach and the roast site was wild; I could hardly believe the amount of work that had been done in such a short period of time. Aside from the tire marks, and the silt on everything, it looked damn good! The men had cut up the fallen trees to make seats out of stumps and placed them around the firepit. Tablecloths were on the tables making it seem festive and fun, the bean bag game was anxiously awaiting players, and my Uncles had already started cooking.
Then we hit a little speed bump.
A lot more people showed up than RSVP-ed, and my Mom only bought enough hot dogs for everyone to have one, so we quickly ran out. Add in the fact that there were a lot of drinkers who were hungry (and probably had more than 1 dog) and you get a few people who went without. Luckily, there were chips and pickles and watermelon, not to mention s’mores, so when it was all said and done, people had SOMETHING to eat. Guess that is a quick lesson in being sure to RSVP or, being more aggressive about getting your food if you did RSVP.
Like the night before, I tried to get around and say hi to everyone and see if they were enjoying themselves. I assume they all did, but with my scurrying around, it was hard for me to relax like they all were!
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| Hurricane Irene damage |
By the time 3:00 rolled around, the canoers had to be on their way towards Pig Farm to get picked up. My Dad and Grandfather said that if I went the long way down river I might not make it in time for the pickup, so we took a short-cut (through Leach Island) and arrived at Pig’s Farm about 10 minutes later, abruptly ending the trip. Fortunately; Paul, Ian and Kasey managed to flip their canoe in about a foot of water… at least there was entertainment.
When all canoes were out of the water, we waited for the bus that would bring us back. We waited for a very long time!
I can’t remember much between that and the rehearsal, except for the fact that it was a whirlwind, and once again, I didn’t have time to get pretty like I wanted to. So I showed up to the rehearsal late, with wet hair.
Things went pretty well during that part of the night. We figured out timing for walking to the music that I had picked out for my cousins to sing and play. We practiced readings and seemed to get everything down pat. It was going well… too well you might say, so on the way to the rehearsal dinner, I did us all a favor and got sick so I could be the one thing that went wrong that day.
Someone should have told me not to drink during the canoe trip. I should have known better. Oh wait, someone did tell me not to drink, it was Dan – and he knew me better than I did. But like I frequently do, I ignored his warnings and spent too much time in the sun drinking alcohol.
Queue me in and out of the bathroom during our rehearsal dinner feeling very sick. I didn’t eat a thing (which I’m sure, didn’t help the situation) and couldn’t seem to get the waiter to bring me a damn ginger ale! You would think that the waiter would remember to bring the BRIDE her drink at her own dinner. This is without a doubt my biggest regret of the wedding, because I essentially missed it. My future mother-in-law gave a great toast welcoming me to the family, everyone was having a great time and from what I heard, the food was excellent… but I couldn’t enjoy it because I kept thinking I was going to throw up.
I guess it was a trade-off: drink and party during the day with friends, or drink and party at night with the family. In retrospect, I should have chosen the latter, but alas, I’m not always the sharpest tool in the shed.
By the time it was over, I had dropped off Dan (at what became wild party HQ that night) and headed back to the farmhouse to pick up my wedding dress. Luckily I was finally feeling better (likely due to the gallons of water I drank instead of eating my dinner). I sat and chatted with my Nana and Uncle Rob late into the night discussing my sleep issues the night before. Uncle Rob shared an Ambien with me and said I would wake up refreshed instead of groggy like I do when I take Benadryl as a sleep-aid.
So then at the Oxford House that night before I went to sleep, I swallowed the Ambien and drifted off to sleep on my stiff mattress. Tomorrow was to be the big day, and I needed that full night’s rest.
