The Big, Fat Colombian Wedding

So D1 and Joey have the venue reserved, and the date, for what I have begun calling the big, fat, Colombian wedding.  I'm guessing the final count will be somewhere North of 250...

I worked hard, and saved well.  I made it clear to the Ds that they could attend college wherever they liked. Both picked UF, and both attended on full scholarships, courtesy of the "Bright Futures" plan initiated 20 years ago, to keep top students in the state rather than go to places like Duke or Emory. It worked in our case -- both spent their time in Gainesville, and since I had the also relatively cheap Prepaid Program, the Ds college tuition was very little. Plus, D1 went to FIU for her Masters, and D2 stated at UF. Again, the tuition was very low.

So, as any wise Dad who wants to spoil his kids learns, eventually you have to pay -- big!  And this is that time, in D1's case.

Joey is blessed with a very large and very loving extended family. Last night we met four more of them -- his Mom's sister and brother, and their spouses.  They live in Bogota, and have homes in Northeast Miami Dade, too.  They made the trip to our house, in a location the Cubans call "Casa Carajo," which means, essentially, "way the hell out there."  I learned last night this idiom isn't the same to Colombians, who reacted to my welcome to "Casa Carajo" with bewilderment -- our house was not "hellish" at all -- it was beautiful...

My future machatanista, or mother in law for my kid, was beaming. She has three awesome sons, and said now she would have "2 amazing daughters."  Her oldest, Bob, is married to a lovely young woman -- a research scientist at the U, originally from Peru.  D1 will be the first gringa in the family -- and she feels very fortunate for that.

These people were so incredibly warm, and loving.  By the end of the night, they invited Wifey and I to Bogota.  And the invites weren't the pleasant, meaningless invites we Americans issue "We should get together sometime." Rather, they wanted a COMMITMENT as to when they could host us.  I have a feeling Colombian trips are definitely in our future...

D1 tells me it's like the show "Friends" there.  Cousins, aunts, uncles simply stop by all day. If you go to an appointment near Tia Jackie, you just definitely stop by, for coffee or a glass of wine. The cousins grow up best friends, and so remain forever.  Of course, being a wiseass, I corrected D1 -- it was more like the show "Amigos." That got me a few chuckles...

Joey's Aunt saved a bottle of Dom Perignon from 1975. She thought about giving it away, in 1989, but when Joey was born, she told Joey's Mom Jackie they'd open it when Joey got engaged. So, last night, we brought it out --41 year old bubbly. Alas, it was bubble-less and tasted like sweetened vinegar. I guess it needed proper storage.

But we laughed, and I had a relief bottle of Vieuve ready -- we popped that one, and toasted the couple.

And it occurred to me the effervescence of the evening, with D1's new family, was the opposite of the old sparkling wine.

Big Man willing, next September ought to be the most awesome one for our family, as it joins with another.