Drawing from the old adage, a picture is worth a thousand words, indulge me in sharing photos and videos from our 50th Anniversary Party.
NB: The photos are primarily candids and not everyone at the party ended up in the photos or the group shots, so if you are reading this and you're not in the photos, please know that the omission was not intentional. Blame it on me; I wasn't organized enough to ask Jake (the photographer) to take specific photos so lots of the crowd photos were 'on the fly.' I'm also grateful for those of you who said, "Get a picture with me!" I was hoping for a photograph with my children, spouses/significant other/grandchildren and we'll be returning to the park sometime in the fall for that, so you see how that goes.
But be that as it may, I think as you scroll through, you, too might feel yourself submerged in love, which is truly the highest and the best I could ever wish for you.
As my mother might have said, Enjoy.
Dance as an expression of love. And joy. And celebration. And exuberance. Elation. Exaltation.
Girl Power!
I love the expression on Jack's face, as if he can't believe he finds himself in the middle of this. Note our lovely cousin, Nicole Nicpon in magenta dress, who led the dancing crowd as Kindergarten Teacher Nicole (which she is).
Tom (formerly referred to in this blog as He Who Must Not Be Named), Bridget, Mary, Dan, Maggie, Molly
Mary, Dan, my youngest cousin on my Mom's side, Joe,
and his main squeeze, CeCe
Pete O'Neill, Maggie's husband; Maggie; Kitty Rogers O'Brien, Tom's wife; Tom; Heidi Jensen, our daughter from another mother and Dan's proclaimed favorite daughter; Bridget; Darin Mastroianni, Bridget's husband; Molly Bahneman; Cameron Gross, Molly's significant other
Ace Mastroianni; Bridget; Darin; Karen; John McManus; McB Smith McManus; Jeanie; Marty Luft; Marcy Smith Luft; Ethan O'Brien; Beau Bahneman; Jameson O'Neill; MaggieRose Luft; Caitlin McManus; Sloane Mastroianni; Maggie; Luke Luft; Pete; Lillie McManus; Lucy Luft; Tom; Kitty; Molly; Jackson Bahneman; Tyson Smith; Cam; Millie O'Brien; Eleanor Smith
There will be a quiz.
The O'Smithsky Matriarchs: Karen Schuss Rowinsky, Mary Parys O'Brien, Jean Douglas Smith
The Looks of Love
Tom read i thank You God for most this amazing, which was read at our wedding as well as his. My daughter-in-law, Kitty, told me she never knew that poem had been read at our wedding before hers.
Grandson Ethan was moved to illustrate the poem, which he shared as his dad read. Tears are a powerful look of love.
as is laughter
and yes, that's Deacon Jean Douglas Smith conducting the
vow renewal ceremony
Forever friends
This is one of my bridesmaids, Felicia Kruzel Pzekota. We met as freshmen in high school, Notre Dame for Girls, Chicago. We share wedding dates--she and John married a year after we did and I was the only non-family member in her bridal party of 9 bridesmaids.
Joe Hernandez. We've been friends since high school.
Janet Miller Hernandez. We met in 3rd grade at St. Ferdinand in Chicago. Yes, she's married to Joe.
Joanie Neudorf Solari. We met in 3rd grade, St. Ferd's. She, Jannie, Felicia and I all went to Notre Dame to high school.
John Przekota. If I remember correctly, he and some of his buddies picked me and another friend up as we were walking home from a carnival, not sure if it was high school or early college. So I knew him before Felicia did.
A year ago, we had sold our Minnetonka home and were awaiting closing. We were wintering in Florida. We were hoping to find a new home (single level living) before we returned to Minnesota. Alas, the hope was misplaced, given the lack of inventory. During the past year, I learned that: About 14 million mortgage borrowers refinanced their homes between 2020 and 2021. Rates were at all-time lows during the pandemic, sinking as low as 2.65%. Given that mortgage rates are now in the high 6 to high 7 percent, more owners, even those who had an interest in moving, were hesitant to give up their historically low (probably never to be seen again) rates. To whit: lack of inventory. I've previously chronicled how emotionally difficult the move ended up being, far surpassing what I anticipated and hanging on longer than I bargained for. We moved into an apartment, and I'll admit that this past summer, it felt pretty good. Our entire family, grandchildren...
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