You should have been there.

This past Saturday was Zoe's wedding in Neenah. 

I went up early on Friday to help with the last-minute stuff that surrounds events like this. You remember how it goes ... eerily similar to our trek to Phoenix when Lynda got married. Errands to run, drama to damper and divert, smiles to interject ... just trying to make this sort of high-pressure thing happens with as little chaos as possible. 

There honestly wasn't much to do on Friday. Lynda and Deb had it all pretty well under control. The hotel was just a block off the main drag in Neenah, so after running a couple of errands, Rob, Lynda and I walked to a local spot for dinner as everyone else headed toward the rehearsal activities. 

Sitting in that bar, full of its Friday night crowd, it was hard to not think about what you'd have ordered or if you'd have thought it was too loud. We talked about Dylan's upcoming wedding and Kati's adventures in mom-hood. Our threesome was missing a piece. You should have been there. 

The next day, I went for a run in the misty morning and when I got back, Deb was on the phone asking me to head to the park where the ceremony was to be held and meet the chair people and the florist ... and to place a few signs around the park directing people how to find their way to the wedding gazebo. 

I carried the heavy wood plant stands borrowed from Deb's house by myself and put them at the end of the aisle that led to the gazebo where the bride and groom would stand. 

I gave a few suggestions to the chair crew. I placed the signs around the perimeter. 

I called the florist when they were 30 minutes late. Then 60 minutes late. Then 90 minutes late. 

You would have cracked up when a different wedding party, who was renting a park shelter near Zoe's gazebo, wandered over to just help themselves to hold their wedding on our site, with our chairs. The groom played a trumpet. 

I videoed the short-but-sweet trespasser nuptials, saving it to show Deb ... later. Much later. 

Once the really late florist had arrived and set up, I hauled ass back to the hotel with just 30 minutes to shower and get fully ready in order to make it back to the park in time to help steer guests from the weird parking situation. Again, I could see you laughing with me as we tried to pull this whole thing off with no one being the wiser. Lisa and Jim to the rescue, as always. You should have been there. 

You'd have had a good time at the reception. Dion and Nick were there and goofing on Nick's son Austin, in attendance with a very pretty girl. He was trying to hang and be cool like the old guys and you would have busted his chops and loved every minute of it. I can see you standing at our chosen pub table, laughing and chatting. You would have shown the trespasser wedding video to our little group and eventually to Paul when he wandered over. You should have been there.

Karla and Livy joined us for dinner, as Karla had been hired to watch Deb's grandson Milo for the day.  Dylan made a remarkable maid of honor speech and you'd have been so proud of her. You'd have pulled her aside later and told her what a great job she did and she would have given you a hug and a thank you.

Dancing? I know you're not one to normally partake. But you would have been right there when Dion snuck a few cooler beers into the venue because they were only serving "fancy" brews. You would have continued to bust on Austin, as he hit the dance floor and tried to keep up with his friends. 

You'd have laughed at my sore feet because of bad shoes and joined us all in belting out "Don't Stop Believing" on the dance floor. You should have been there ... having fun with us. 

And this morning, you would have ordered your Eggs Benedict at the local breakfast stop as we said good-bye to Lynda and Rob. You'd have let Deb give you a big squeeze and a heartfelt thank you for helping to keep everything running smoothly. You'd have reminded her and Lynda that turnabout is fair play ... because they helped so much at Kati's wedding and you would have said something like, "Don't worry ... we'll be there in AZ in a very short while when it's Dylan's turn." 

On the way home, we'd have discussed the weekend like we always did after a party. You'd have mocked me for my blistered feet and sore dancing muscles. I would have thanked you for being such a good sport and rolling with the punches as we saved the day one more time. I might not have remembered to tell you how grateful I was that you accpted and loved my friends so effortlessly, and just fit in as if you'd grown up with us and had been part of the group forever.  

There was a piece missing. Everyone noticed it. We all would have liked for you to have been there.