Mr. and Mrs. Reyes...
After a good 4 and a half years of togetherness, Ricky and Summer are married. FINALLY. It was a beautiful ceremony and an incredible weekend. Charleston is still hot, and downtown still smells like a soiled barnhouse after it rains, but it's still one of the greatest cities on earth.
Admittedly, I was somewhat nervous going to Chucktown. After all, many that I saw there I hadn't seen in a long time. True, many I saw at Nick's wedding, but some weren't there, so it had been a while. I wasn't sure how easy it would be to pick things up and talk to people without awkwardness.
But it was wonderful. It was absolutely heartwarming talking to everyone. Spending the night with the guys on Friday night was good times, reminiscent of dorm life only with a nicer looking place.
This weekend also helped me realize how much I truly do love my friends from Charleston. How I really do care about their lives. Their families, their careers, their health, their dreams, their problems, their souls. It made me wish that we still lived at 5820 Murray Drive. That we could just call up Nick and Brandie or Brad and Cherie and tell them to come over for dinner. That we could get together with Bobby and Virginia or Ricky and Summer and go see a movie.
And thinking about it now, it saddens me that we all won't be able to really do all those things together. It's not that we did them much in recent years anyway, but I desire that more than ever. I wish we could be there to celebrate with Brad and Cherie when they finally get to buy a house. To celebrate with Nick and Brandie when she graduates CSU and he graduates seminary. To celebrate with Bobby and Virginia when they find out someday that Virginia is pregnant. All these things are likely miles down the road, I'm sure. But it would be nice to be there for it all.
And, if nothing else, just to watch each other be married. I had to sit back and reflect this weekend on the times we weren't married. Heck, the times we weren't even engaged. Now most of us are graduated with grown up jobs and grown up marriages and grown up lives.
But one thing hasn't failed me. It hasn't failed any of us. That no matter how many miles separate us on this earth, I still know I can go up to any of those guys and give them a hug and say I love you and not feel weird because they are my family. They are my brothers in Christ. So in that sense, I care for them and their spouses. And I pray tonight that God watches over you all and blesses you with the richest of blessings, and I'll restate what I've said before: you always have a place in Knoxville to come to.
-eddie
Admittedly, I was somewhat nervous going to Chucktown. After all, many that I saw there I hadn't seen in a long time. True, many I saw at Nick's wedding, but some weren't there, so it had been a while. I wasn't sure how easy it would be to pick things up and talk to people without awkwardness.
But it was wonderful. It was absolutely heartwarming talking to everyone. Spending the night with the guys on Friday night was good times, reminiscent of dorm life only with a nicer looking place.
This weekend also helped me realize how much I truly do love my friends from Charleston. How I really do care about their lives. Their families, their careers, their health, their dreams, their problems, their souls. It made me wish that we still lived at 5820 Murray Drive. That we could just call up Nick and Brandie or Brad and Cherie and tell them to come over for dinner. That we could get together with Bobby and Virginia or Ricky and Summer and go see a movie.
And thinking about it now, it saddens me that we all won't be able to really do all those things together. It's not that we did them much in recent years anyway, but I desire that more than ever. I wish we could be there to celebrate with Brad and Cherie when they finally get to buy a house. To celebrate with Nick and Brandie when she graduates CSU and he graduates seminary. To celebrate with Bobby and Virginia when they find out someday that Virginia is pregnant. All these things are likely miles down the road, I'm sure. But it would be nice to be there for it all.
And, if nothing else, just to watch each other be married. I had to sit back and reflect this weekend on the times we weren't married. Heck, the times we weren't even engaged. Now most of us are graduated with grown up jobs and grown up marriages and grown up lives.
But one thing hasn't failed me. It hasn't failed any of us. That no matter how many miles separate us on this earth, I still know I can go up to any of those guys and give them a hug and say I love you and not feel weird because they are my family. They are my brothers in Christ. So in that sense, I care for them and their spouses. And I pray tonight that God watches over you all and blesses you with the richest of blessings, and I'll restate what I've said before: you always have a place in Knoxville to come to.
-eddie