Our family, like many others I’m sure has it’s library of both comical and embarrassing stories that make their rounds every holiday season. Some are widely known. Others tend to be more obscure. Some happened with everyone there. Others with only a few. They get rehashed I believe, because despite their comedic expense provide a fertile past to also remember the times not so funny. The quiet memories. The tender moments. The heavy tears.
At some point Mom or Dad will talk about Inky and Dad and the trashcan at the boardwalk. Inky and I will often share an uncomfortable chuckle as the family laughs about flying the kite outside. I always cackle uncontrollably when I remember how I tried on Inky’s shirt. And a story that bridges even into Dad’s side of the family involves Tita Sally looking for Tina at the beach down at Ocean City. I suppose we share so many of those memories because on our side of our families, we were all we had as far as relatives went. A testament to how close Mom and Ninong Boy are as well, we spent summers together, Christmas, holidays. Bri and his “son” that one Thanksgiving. Visiting the apartment on Junction Boulevard in the summers during college. Swimming lessons with Lori/Glory/Gloria. Having the both of you at our side during our wedding in California.
Like Mik, we watched you grow up. We read the stories you wrote in school. We watched you two adjust and excel when you moved to Maryland. And when Ate Jen and I were in California we were amazed to witness your high school graduation. Then college. Then become a physical therapist. Do you remember that one night I stayed at your apartment in Philly? It seemed so strange to me that my little cousin had her own place, getting her doctorate. Growing up. And now, watching you thank the wedding party and greet the families at the rehearsal dinner, watching your parents faces as you walked down the aisle, observing you dancing with your husband at the reception. It truly has been a pleasure to watch you blossom into a wonderful and amazing woman. It is a privilege to have been there and see your grow. From your bedroom in Queens, to the beds in the attic and now to the arms of your spouse.
Thank you for bringing us all together again, in this way. We are blessed to be able to see each other all the time, every week actually at the houses or at church. And we’re lucky to have wonderful family and friends that come together for holidays, for weddings, and sadly sometimes even funerals. But of all these times, these times, weddings are truly the best. We celebrate new beginnings, the start of new life. The sacrament personified in those we love. Families merged and sons and daughters birthed. The Body of Christ, reunion, dancing and eating. All of this possible through Him and through your love. Thank you for having us. Through time, from the past to the future. I can’t wait to be there for the next chapters of your life. Congratulations cousin. All the best to you and Bill.
With all of our love,
Kuy, Ate Jen, William, Matthew and Hope
The Marana Family 