The Family That Drinks Together...

Last Monday, I thought I was ahead of the game and took my vintage suit in to the dry cleaners in preparation for my cousin's Saturday wedding.

"It'll be ready on Wednesday."

Wednesday came and I was told that, for some reason, it said it wouldn't be ready until the end of the day. Fine, I thought, I'll pick it up tomorrow.

Thursday came and I had planned to get it after I picked the kids up from school. Until I got the phone call.

"This is B---- Cleaners. There's a problem with your green dress. We had to remove all the beading so it won't be ready until the end of next week."

WHAAAAAAT????? "I was told it was going to be ready on Wednesday. Next week is too late. I need it for a wedding in Toronto this Saturday. You should have told me when I dropped off the dress that it was going to be trouble for you. I would have taken it somewhere else!"

So we bantered back and forth and I held my ground. I told them I would be there at their shop Friday at 4. And the dress will look awesome with the beading intact.

Of course, when I got there, I got, "The dress isn't ready yet."

"Well, then I'll wait here until it is."

I got the dress about 35 minutes later.

Why the big fuss? I really wanted to wear it because it matched so very well with my cousin's mother's silver cocktail purse. My aunt passed away and I know how much she and my uncle would have loved to be there to see their son get married (finally). And one of my relatives even recognized the purse being Auntie Mary's.

It was a great wedding. My family does parties very well. Mind you, I don't know how much input my cousin had in it because it seemed to be very bride-side-of-the-family, but that could be said of many weddings. It's all about the woman in the marshmallow dress.

Middle Child loved all the Jewishness of it. It was a big departure from the last wedding he went to, and, culturally, new to him. He liked eating the challah best of all, he said.

And though I love to eat well, drink lots and dance my feet off, the best part of weddings and all family gatherings is being with my cousins. We don't see each other nearly enough and, considering that we lived within the same block growing up, I'm sometimes envious of friends who have relatives that they can visit during the week or babysit their kids or whatever.

But despite the months (and sometimes years) that keep my family apart, when we get together, we're like slipping into a comfortable pair of shoes.

So, of course, when I got carded, I thought nothing of boasting to everyone. It must have been because I was wearing pink lipstick and foundation (retro dress needed retro makeup and hair).

Yeah, I got CARDED! The waitress was going around with wine at our table. My grandmother (the living one, obviously), my similarly aged Uncle P (did I mention we're Catholic?), and Husband were served and she walks right by me. "I'll have the red, please!" I waved at her. "Are you old enough to drink?" My eyes started to water and, I guess once I smiled, all my wrinkles cracked my face. I was served then.

But, get this, I'm used to us all getting kicked out of weddings after 1 am or something. However, everyone was starting to leave right after dessert. I talked to the bride before we left at 11:30, which seemed to be when the party ended. She didn't understand why everyone had left. I shared my thought that it was because the bar was outside of the hall and tucked away in the far end of the foyer.

I mean, we had a great time, I'd say. During the ceremony, I sat near my dad and my Uncle A who were cracking jokes the whole way through, as they always do. "J, take this cup, given to you by L, as a sign of nourishment..." And my dad, who is hard of hearing and may not have realized that he was pretty loud, said, "Oh, shit! She's already driven him to drink!"

I turned to my cousin F, who lives near Houston, and whispered, "Did you miss us?"

She slyly smiled and joked, "SOME of you."