It was a long day with plenty of ups and downs. It started with a big ole down because Boy is not a cool and relaxed fellow. Maybe I am the one that isn't a cool fellow, but this was a very important day for Wife and the last thing I wanted was Boy showing up late because of something on the road, like an accident. After exchanging a couple of unpleasantries, Wife told me to leave it at that, she would have a talk with him later, so I did.
We got there just in time to get involved bringing in all the heavy slow cookers full of brisket and rice and beans and everything in between to make a meal away from home a success. It was nice to find out that my sister in law's coworkers wanted to donate their assistance serving the food. Basically, we just got it inside to the tables set up for serving and the rest was taken care of by them. We left the house at 9:00am and got there probably by 10:40am. Boy then showed up an hour later, mostly because of us being annoying in the first place, around 11:30am. He still wanted to show how it wasn't a big deal and that he was still early. I told him we got lucky that there wasn't much to do, thanks to those ladies taking care of all the stuff with the food. They were still useful in getting chips and salsa to all the tables.
My in-laws were scheduled to arrive at 12:30pm, and luckily, my parents arrived at 12:27pm. My parents came into the room as we were gathered by the door to scream "surprise!", which I was just glad my parents made it in time. My brother had gotten there 20 minutes earlier with his family and even my niece's new BF.
I don't know how they managed it, but between Wife and her two sisters and brother, they turned this big white room into a beautiful tribute to their parents, complete with as many friends and family as they could motivate to travel. The actual decorations were mostly from my brother in law's family as they do some professional hosting, they had all this stuff for free use and they even showed up to help decorate the night before. I believe the cakes, which were two 3 level cakes in german chocolate and white wedding cake, were free/donated by another aunt of my brother in law's wife.
I labeled this the laughing and the crying because those were the two main reactions to the various little speeches we all attempted. After yelling surprise and eating a real good meal of brisket and all the sides, we saw a 20-30 minute video of my in-laws through the years as more and more kids, then grandkids were added in. My older sister in law's husband started the speeches and he kept it very broad and focused to the 50 years of celebration. I was next and after an initial small panic attack, where I almost lost it to crying, it is hard to tell people you genuinely love them and appreciate them and then try to come up with the words of why you feel this. I prepared by writing my speech, and after hearing some laughter to the jokes I had added in, I felt more emboldened and was able to get through my commitment. I felt like the weight of the world was off me as I walked to the back of the room where I prefer to lurk.
Other people kept getting called up to talk and my two boys were caught unprepared. Javalina was even joking he would read my speech, but only on the condition he would call me a "little bitch" for chickening out. It was funny that Wife talks all the time in all sorts of capacities and rooms full of as many as 300-400 people and never has a problem, but she was crying and being emotional the whole time she said her piece. She stood holding the mike as both boys went up there and Javalina took the mike stumbled for a second but came back with a thank you for having him over every summer and his grandma making him his favorite pan of chicken embueltos, which was funny and in line with the other boys mentioning nuggets and other foods. Boy, on the other hand, was like the little robot that ran out of oil. He froze hard and boom, Niagara Falls. He fell into a heap in his mama's arms crying out loud and that turned the room into a crying beautiful mess. It was a very rare moment of seeing Boy reacting with real raw emotions. This was the highs and lows for me. After the various other people saying thank you and I Love You to my in-laws, the party wound down, we cleaned up and headed to their house around 4-5pm. I sat in the car and immediately fell asleep. We got there and all I did was run over to their bed and laid down and slept until about 7:30pm. I woke, ate some more brisket, heard a bunch more stories, saw them open their gifts and we left around 10:00pm.
It was really a perfect and beautiful event. I tried to be on my best behavior, and did not argue or complain to Wife about my normal shit. Her parents were over the moon, caught by surprise at the effort the kids put on for them. I want to grumble, but we are going back in the morning for brunch. I woke up at 2:30am to write this and it is now almost 4:00am as I keep zoning out and coming to. I guess it is a significant celebration to get to 50 years, my folks will be there in two more years, hopefully, shoot, we are halfway there, we celebrate 25 years this December. Time flies when you are living life.
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