ghost of a chance with no place to go {or week twenty-three}

have you ever been to a wedding
where you saw the bride for 30 seconds... and 30 seconds only?


remember i said i had a baby shower and a wedding to attend today?
yes, that's right... both in one day.
any normal person would have realized this is pretty near impossible...
to attend both, when each starts within one hour of each other,
and each is about an hour and a half from one another.


but in case you haven't noticed, i'm not always quite normal.
and rather unwisely, i chose to attempt to attend both.


and the one that started first {which i attended first}
was an hour and a half from where i live.
that started at one o'clock... one of my sweetest and dearest friend's baby shower.
{she's due in a month!}


well... since the wedding started at two o'clock,
i knew full well i would not make it to the ceremony.
but i still thought i could make it to the reception,
which was to last from three o'clock until four-thirty.


but i did not get to leave the shower until about two-thirty.
and since i had to stop and get gas on the way home,
making it to the church in time to see the bride {another sweet friend}
was just about impossible to do.
and let me just say, pregnant people have no right
driving sixty-five miles per hour down country roads
just to make it to a wedding reception.


the more i feverishly drove,
the more i figured i did not stand a ghost of chance to make it.
but then with b's help navigating me through country back roads on the phone,
i realized i just might make it to see the bride
before she and her new hubby had to bolt for the more private family reception.


at about fourteen minutes after four,
just as i was about to pull into the church parking lot,
i had this strange and sinking feeling that i was going to pull in
and see the bride and groom running through the receiving line outside the church doors
with rice flying everywhere or bubbles floating throughout the air.


and i was not even as lucky as all that.
literally, as i was pulling in to wind around toward a parking spot,
my car pulled right smack dab in front of my friend's car.
she was in the passenger seat.
her hubby was driving.
we gave each other a look {looks that spoke volumes},
both stopped our cars right where we were,
and each got out to say hello and get a hug in before she had to rush off.


though i was so terribly disappointed,
i was so happy i got to see the beautiful bride in her dress...
oh, she was like an angel.
and the professional wedding photographer happened to be only steps away.
so she got it all on camera... the cars, the screeching halt, the hugs, the words exchanged.
then we got to turn and pose for a shot looking at the camera.
i can't wait to get a copy of that!
what a memory it will hold!


oh, my goodness, i will never forget this day!
it was so unfortunate,
and i could just kick myself for trying to fit both in.
it would have been far better to choose one or the other and attend only that event.
then i could have fully enjoyed one,
rather than only partially enjoying two... and just barely the second.


i literally got back in my car immediately and headed for home.
i called b. crying... "i can't even believe this!"
i truly was sad...
sad that i could not spend more time with the glowing bride.
and i would have seen a lot of people i had not seen in years, too.
and i would have gotten a chance to get to know her hubby a little more,
as i have only met him twice before today.


disappointed does not even begin to express how i felt.
after all that driving and rushing...
i felt sooooo deflated.


and here i was... all decked out with no place to go!
i mean, i guess my dress and up-do was for the shower, too.
but i was definitely over-dressed for that occasion.
everyone there knew why i was looking so fancy for a shower,
so it was not very strange to be the only one all dressed up.
but i still felt like it was all for nothing.
and what's worse, i had to leave the shower early...
and that WAS all for nought!


ughhh...
another note to self:
DON'T ever try to do two events in one day
when they are more than an hour apart in driving distance
and less than a few hours apart in start time...
especially not while pregnant
and hormonal
and on the brink of running out of gas
and constantly needing to pee
and on little sleep.


don't EVER do this again!


but DO spend time with cherished friends.
and that, i DID do.
so that made it all worth it.


{*sigh*}


at least i can say, the shower was so very lovely.
there were FOUR... count 'em... four pregnant women there.
it was crazy that almost half of the women there were with child!
and it was such a blessing to share this time with my sweet friend.
{i call her "ese"}.

we got a photo together of our bellies,
and i can honestly say,
i never ever dreamed that this would be a photo we could take...
both of us pregnant at the same time.
this is her third kiddo,
so it's not unfathomable to think of her pregnant.
but it's unfathomable to think of me that way,
so getting this photo with her is even more beyond my wildest dream.


in fact, getting that photo was one of the deciding factors
in my decision to go to that shower for sure.
i knew {since she will be having her little squirt in a month or less}
that i might never have the chance for that photo again.


so i went.
and i am so very glad i did.


well, i have to say,
though it was a long day that ended on a disappointing note,
i called my friend dierdre on my fifteen minute drive home
from the church where the wedding was.
i had to tell her how bummed i was,
as i had seen her this morning over coffee and hot cocoa
and told her all about my plans for the day.


i joked about meeting up with her again tonight,
since i was all dressed up and hated to waste a cute dress
and the time it took me to do my hair
{which i rarely ever do}
and make-up
{which i rarely ever wear}.


she offered to meet me at a restaurant a block from my house...
a nice restaurant with a great little front bar area.
she bought me a little glass of wine
{don't freak out... it's the only one this entire pregnancy}
and a delicious spinach/artichoke dip appetizer.


we had such a nice time chatting... one of those unexpected, unplanned visits
that life sometimes throws our way.
it really did make up for an anti-climactic ending to what started out a beautiful day.


then i came home and listened to herb alpert with b.
among many other great musicians.
we had a tasty pizza with greek fixin's
and then we listened to more music.
and we had some good talks thrown in there, too.


all in all, it was still a very good day.
and since tomorrow is my twenty-three mark in this pregnancy,
i decided to take more self-portraits.
why not?
i'm all dressed up anyway!


to go with my "ghost of a chance" theme,
i put the three more ghostly {oops} shots first.
below are the rest.
{the last one was taken by b., though.}


twenty-three down.
seventeen to go.