If the Shoe Fits, GET MARRIED IN IT!

Bridal caboose is back on the wedding track! Now that the big items are taken care of, the "smaller" items are starting to feel big because they are surrounded by all small things. The biggish small thing I took care of today was getting my shoes. Accompanied by bridal caboose rider, Krista, I effortlessly bought the shoes that will carry me across the threshold of maidenhood. I like them because they are sparkly and strappy and the heel is only about 2.5 inches. I am honestly not sure how this is all going to go because my gown is heavy-- and I mean heavy. When I brought her home, I hung her in the closet in the guest bedroom. I went to check on her last weekend and the hanger had broken and the dress was sort of slumped over. Luckily the skirt is hearty enough to stand on its own, but it's a little disconcerting to see your wedding dressed slumped over in a closet like a homicide victim.

So the shoes have been purchased. I also have my eye on a tiara to wear during the reception. I got a little sticker shock when I saw the price, but if I am ever going to wear a tiara, I'm pretty sure now is the time. I was too scared to pull the trigger today, but it's only a matter of time before I make one of them my own.

We also got a lovely gift from Krista and Gene-- a book by Anna Diamant about the Modern Jewish Wedding. It's very comprehensive. We read about the significance of the chuppah today and also about the breaking of the glass. I have been telling Jeff all along that if we have the breaking of the glass, we are both doing it. I haven't been very keen on the traditions that have rigid gender "rules", although you didn't exactly hear my plaintive cries when it came to him buying me an engagement ring. In any case, it turns out that modern Jewish wedding ceremonies often feature both the bride and groom breaking the glass. Having now bought my bridal Mary Jane's, I am not so sure about stomping on a glass. We read that breaking the glass symbolizes several different aspects of Jewish culture, including a commemoration of the communal sadness associated with the destruction of the Temple. Nothing says party quite so much as communal sadness. I was less enthused about bringing in memories of centuries of sadness, oppression and destruction into our wedding so I am attaching to another significance: it also alludes to the initiation of the sexual union. Racy business, this Judaism! I remember reading that a groom who fails to break the glass foreshadows his own impotence. (Jeff, are you reading this?)

We've actually had a very religious weekend. Last night we buried a St. Joseph statue in a flower pot on the balcony of my condo. You know, the one that's been on the market for almost 10 weeks without an offer. We buried St. Joseph head first so that his feet face the heavens and said a prayer that he facilitate our home sale. We tried the St. Joseph intercession when Jeff's place was for sale, and I say it worked. Jeff says that the fact that an offer came weeks after we stooped in freezing rain and plunged St. Joe into the ground means it didn't work. I say that had we not buried him we would have never sold his condo. Who can touch that impeccable logic?