For one of the closest friends and confidants in my life, yesterday was a special day. My co-best friend and accountant celebrated her 4-year wedding anniversary. I actually can’t believe that much time has flown by…makes me really feel like I’m a 30-year-old. I remember that moment though. That brings me to this week’s moment in the Flashback Friday series: Deondrea’s wedding.
How I first came across this moment? I remember barely being back home from my 3 years in Tokyo when she texted me that her then longtime boyfriend proposed to her. Naturally, I was very happy and excited for her. When she got around to sending out save the dates, she mentioned that the wedding ceremony would be in late March down in Tampa. At the time, I wasn’t fond of Florida…a result of that whole bad girlfriend thing. I had visited once, in 2009, but all of the bad feelings I had about the state overwhelmed me and I told myself that I would never visit again. But Dee was one of my co-best friends and our bond as friends was stronger than my very personal feelings toward things that happened in Jacksonville in 2007. So I made the trip down Tampa way, getting there the day before the wedding. I actually stopped by the tail end of the wedding rehearsal, where I saw her in full bridezilla mode. I did get a chance to meet her then fiancé and some of her family members. The next day—March 26, 2011—came and I took in her wedding ceremony. It was beautiful and I was very much proud and happy for her. It was something that I knew she wanted for so long.
What it meant to me then? Believe it or not, that was the first ever wedding I attended. Seeing my co-best friend walk down the aisle escorted by her father made me kinda emotional. It definitely touched a really sensitive part of my heart…made me really think about my own future regarding marriage and stuff like that.
What it means to me now? Today, as I read in Triumphs & Tribulations XI about that day, I still feel the same way. I’ve been to 5 other weddings since, including one last week in Miami. A part of me gets a little emotional, a little envious of the couple that’s coming together…mostly because I ultimately want the same thing for myself. None of the 5 weddings I’ve been to since attending Dee’s wedding compares to that one…even the ones that were extravagantly presented. It was a great moment.
