honey and sting

I'm back, as of last night, despite the *world wide* crash of the U.S. Customs computer system, which threatened but did not deliver delays of nightmarish proportions (things came up in about an hour).


I'll start with that, then backtrack. The brides were as beautiful as, well, brides -- Troutkitty in a sparkly black ensemble with a sequinned top and flowy, slit-up-to-the-knees pants, pretty, pretty sandals, and her hair in a French twisty thing with flowers. Daemonluna was in a pale, pale sage outfit with long flowy skirt, flower and butterfly necklace, and matching, delicate shawl. Long, long hair down her back. Both of them glowed.

The officiant (called "wedding commissioner") opened with the lines from a Rumi poem: "It is time to close the language door and open the love window." The rest of the ceremony was poetic, lyrical, spiritual, and funny, reflecting their spirits just right.

The wedding was in a garden that is part of the Deane House, a historical site. Rain clouds loomed all day, and during the ceremony, and the wind was blowing, and we all kept peeking up at the sky, but what we saw were two eagles (ospreys, we think) circling overhead during the entire ceremony, and as the commissioner pronounced them a married couple, a train went by, dinging its bells like church bells. Pure magic. We all made it into the Deane House for the reception, and the rain poured down.

The week started for me the Friday before, arriving at the Calgary airport. Troutkitty and Daemonluna whisked me off to Kananaskis, at the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, where we stayed at a beautiful mountain lodge. We relaxed with fantasic!roast lamb, pasta salad, and chocolate cheesecake they had made and brought with, then got even more relaxed in the indoor/outdoor hot tub under the mountains, trees, and stars.

Next day, up to Banff for spectacular views of very pointy mountains (Mockingspike later explained this is due to them having been glaciated), and a day at the most decadent spa I've ever encountered -- massages for all 3 of us, and pedicures for the brides, interpersed with a walk to town for lunch (paninis on fantastic, fresh bakery multi-grain and -seed bread), and time luxuriating in an amazing Hungarian mineral pool. The pool is huge, in a domed structure with views of the mountains just outside, and is surrounded by 3 smaller pools, hot, tepid, and cold, with cascading waterfalls into each that you can stand under and be pelted by. The central pool is so mineral-rich that you float effortlessly, and as your ears dunk below the water, you can hear the music that is piped in. (scroll to bottom of page for small pic of pool; pic at top of page is the hotel the spa is in: http://www.fairmont.com/banffsprings/ )

Relaxed up to our eyeballs, we drove down out of the mountains and spend the night at Troutkitty's parents' home. Next day, we picked up Mockingspike, who navigated us through the "badlands" to see the "hoodoos" ( http://www.virtuallydrumheller.com/tour/hoodoos.htm ), then on to the Tyrell Museum (dinasaurs! geek happiness! fantastic Burgess Shale exhibit!). Note: Mockingspike is an excellent navigator. Just make sure you ask him how MANY miles of road along the route will be *paved*. (Numphar! Do the dance of the paved road! .... Numphar! No longer do the dance of the paved road! Do the dance of the gravel road!) hee!

Next drive was through prairie (BIG horizon), with views of cows, horses, and a lot of baled hay in very, very large fields. Also, we drove through the town of Vulcan, complete with giant model of the Starship Enterprise. We spent the next few days in Lethbridge, where they are living now, alternately crashing, doing last minute wedding prep odds and ends, and viewing things (vids, David Hewlett movies -- I have now seen Boa vs. Python -- and I got pimped, roundly and completely, and, I might add, rather instantaneously, into Deadwood -- I mean, seriously, the *credits* are amazing). Also, Troutkitty wrote smut. :)

Back to Calgary for a bar-b-que with their writer's group (which proceeded despite thunderstorms -- those hardy Canadians, eh?), and spent the night at Daemonluna's folks, with various incantations said against the threatening rain.

Which brings us up to the wedding day, and all the blessings said and unsaid for the beauty, and happiness, and love we saw so clearly between them, and spreading to everybody. They have a *fantasic*, joyful, witty, loving group of friends, and I felt as welcomed as I've ever felt anywhere to be there. I've known Troutkitty for 8 years now, and I've never seen her so happy. I felt blessed and honored to be there, and participate in it all. It was a good day to be in the world.

We long for the days when happiness is as salient and interesting as pain. This was one of them.