Before and After

Before this?

There was this:

 Oh, how lovely my lovelies are.

And after this:

After these lovelies tied the proverbial knot . . .

There were these lovelies. Okay, technically, we are Befores, because we came before the B&G, but you get what I mean. Plus, gaze upon my sisters. Aren't they lovely? Aren't there a lot of them? But I'm the only one with a spotlight upon my person . . .

But if you think that we are cool -- and, well, even if you don't . . .

. . . we have Emilie Super Hero. She really is. Both an Emilie and a Super Hero.

And look. More Befores. I love Befores.

I miss these peoples . . .

. . . and these peoples . . .

. . . and these peoples . . .

. . . and these peoples . . . Wait, no. They're strangers. I don't miss them.

But I definitely miss these Befores . . .

. . . and certainly these Afters.

I texted these lovelies a couple of days later:

"I love you N&Ns of mine and I miss you like crazy. Thanks for a great weekend. You are my favorite poopheads in all the world."

And they all texted back. All of them. They are the best batch of poopheads ever invented.

I don't know if I can express the love of the niecie-poo and nephew thing. All I can say is, I finally get why *my* aunties were always so happy to see me and acted as if I was something special when I was just a middle child of a middle child of a million zillion cousins. They love me. They always just stinkin' have. And I carry on the tradition proudly.

And these niecie-poos of mine? Ye gods. I mean, come ON! Here are three quarters of them (the bride was otherwise engaged):

After . . . 

. . . and Before.

Yeah, they're pretty easy to love.

Chrissie Pants! Or, more accurately, Chrissie-Split-Trousers. He's easy to love, too.

But, finally, ultimately, it came down to these two children. They are why all the peoples from all the lands all traveled to one tiny spot on the planet to be together for days to celebrate all the things that we are and that we hope to be and what we strive to achieve. Colleenie said to me on Sunday morning, about all the events: "Everybody said yes to everything!" 100% attendance, baby.

We blame it all on you, Colleen.

And your lovely husband. So now it's your turn. Get out there . . .

. . . and show us how it's done.