Bells

Weddings have claimed my life lately, and although the expense and time commitments can be overwhelming with six of these celebrations in one year, they are still all worth it. I've cried at each one I've been to. At the last wedding I was in, the bride and groom wrote their own vows, and I was practically tear-free until my friend started reciting hers for her now-husband, trembling and beginning to cry while she tried to express her desire to be a good wife.

I don't know what that means, really, to be a good wife. I have no doubts about my abilities to be a good mother because a mother's responsibilities just seem so clear-cut to me. But wifedom? I am so afraid I will fail at that. And I'm not ready for it. It's amazing to me that I have these friends who are so sure, so certain, that they're with the right person, making this huge, brave step. I envy that certainty.

The preacher said something that made me think -- that everyone at that wedding was now a part of this marriage, and that it was our job to support them through the years to come. That's when I stopped feeling like I was losing a little bit of my friend.

Congratulations, to all of my lovely ladies. I have such high hopes for you. Here's to a happy life together.