Remember to say 'I love you' often

To my daughter on her wedding day,

I've started this letter a hundred times in my head, and I still can't seem to find the right words. Every time I try to focus my thoughts into something clear and candid and meaningful, I tear up.

Or I think about any number of things left to do. I think about things that can go wrong. My mind floats away, carried by the million details that are a wedding.

Yet here we are. Today is the day. Our Deanna Rae, our little "Dee Dee Bear" is getting married.

As I step outside the vortex of ceremony and reception details that sucks you in - what time will the tables and chairs be delivered, remember to pick up the wedding programs, don't forget the midnight run to get Grandma Nan at the airport - I see a beautiful and talented woman who has chosen a beautiful and talented man to be her partner, her soul mate.

We're so very happy to welcome Rob into our family, and I was thinking the other day how poetic it is that the two of you met in pottery class.

As you shaped those cups and bowls and the assortment of tiny pitchers that line my kitchen windowsill, you didn't know at first that your future, too, was being shaped.

And just like each of us, not all of those mugs and jugs are perfect. There are flaws that make them unique, glazing that turned them unexpected colors. A few drips here and there. Some pieces cracked.

Today during your wedding ceremony you'll take Holy Communion, drinking from a chalice you two shaped with your own hands.

I will pray that God, whom the Bible calls the master potter, will mold the two of you and hold you in the palm of His hand as you walk through life together.

Let the emotional roller coaster of the last few months roll on by today. All of the planning is done, the stage (or in this case the hayfield) is set. Sure, we've had some disappointments along the way, some things that didn't turn out exactly the way you had envisioned them. But we've had so many unexpected kindnesses, too.

And that's life. You take the bad with the good.

Today, on what surely will be one of the most memorable days of your life, remember the feeling of looking into one another's eyes and professing your love. Remember that dizzying feeling of falling in love. Remember to say "I love you," and say it often.

Your dad and I are so proud of you. Today is your day and the first day of that great adventure we call marriage. Take a deep breath and enjoy it.

Love, Mom

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com