Oklahoma Trip

Friday we flew down to Oklahoma to visit Jeremy’s family. Jeremy’s baby brother, Nicholas, now 26, is marrying his fiancé, Linnea, at the Mormon Temple in Nauvoo, Illinois, on Saturday, September 15. The family hosted a pre-wedding reception for their Oklahoma friends at the Oklahoma State Capitol Building Saturday afternoon, September 8.

It had been five years since I had visited Jeremy’s family (the summer before I left Houston to move to SE Michigan, where I met Naoyuki) and I was eager to see them. Melissa’s daughter, Mia, was only a baby last time I was there and Jocelin’s son, Andrew, was still six months in the future. They’re now going on 6 and 5 respectively.

For that matter, the last time I visited Nick was still in Paraguay on his mission trip. Last time I saw him was at the dedication ceremony / going away party they had for him in August 2000. At that point he was younger than David is now.

It was a great visit. Nick, who is just now starting his Ph.D. program in cosmology at the University of California at Davis, and Linnea, a textile designer for Land’s End, make a lovely couple. Mia and Andrew are amazing; Jocelin and Melissa both seem happy and going great guns (Jocelin is buying a house, Melissa is now working on her master’s in genetic counseling at the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center); Ron and Becky are enjoying retirement and being empty nesters (with the kids and grandkids and best friends close by.)

They seemed to find Naoyuki fun and entertaining and as far as I can tell it was mutual! We went out to dinner with Ron, Nick, Mia, and Ron’s best friend, John, a crusty, entertaining Englishman, Friday evening while Becky and the girls through a surprise wedding shower for Linnea. Saturday morning Naoyuki and I visited the Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory at the Myriad Botanical Gardens in Downtown Oklahoma City. And that afternoon we helped with the punch, the photos, and the clean up at the reception at the (really quite impressive) Capitol building.

The only downside was that it rained the whole time we were there (a total of 36 hours), thanks to remnants of Hurricane Henriette passing through, and when it wasn’t raining it was muggy as all get out. Every time we stepped out of the car our glasses fogged up!

I’m hoping it won’t be another five years before I see them again but sometimes things work out that way. At this point I have become somewhat accustomed to the notion that I will go long periods without actually seeing folks I love and hold dear. The interesting thing, from my point of view, is that upon seeing them again it is as if no time has elapsed since the last visit.