Hale Kilinahe: The Journal

APRIL 6, 1998 Right now, Katie is shrieking, but I gave a lot to say. Ryan and I have been together for four years. For better or worse, through a period of long-distanceness, four semesters of Ka Leo hell, a separation, a reunion, a pregnancy, a marriage and two months of parenthood. And the whole thing came down to Saturday night. It was our celebration of our marriage and Katie's arrival. Now, I've felt married to Ryan practically since the beginning of our relationship, and on our wedding day, the whole thing changed, but this weekend finalized it. Everyone (almost) was there to share it with us. Now it's really real. What is it about a mega-buck party that makes one's paper wedding a spiritual rite of passage? Mom-in-law spared no expense to make it special for us, in her ususal fashion. We had leis and homemade (by me) favors and new aloha wear. It was the party I've waited for for twenty-five years. It was wonderful. I'll replay it over and over in my head for years to come. Nate and Jaimee arrived on Wednesday, but we didn't get to see them until Saturday. I met Jaimee in Hilo. She was one of the ten or so girls that all hung out together. During my second semester there, Ryan came and somehow made his way into the group. Jaimee's remained a great friend through the years. Nate has been Ryan's best friend since intermediate school. We fixed them up a couple years ago and they both live in Oregon now. So we picked up William and we went to met them at a noodle joint. They just went crazy for Katie. Then we relaxed in our complimentary room in the hotel for an hour or so before setting up. The party itself went so fast. My co-workers Gracie and Erin came. They were the only people there purely for me. Ryan gave a beautiful speech. But between greeting guests and all the pictures, we hardly got to eat this huge, expensive buffet dinner. Katie was such a doll. Everybody went ga ga, but I can hardly even remember who I talked to when. It went so fast. Grandma offered to babysit. It was wonderful, but I missed her so much I could hardly stand it. < BACK | TOP | NEXT >