Out of My Comfort Zone

How would I choose to spend a rainy November Saturday evening? Probably wearing flannel pajamas and socks, sitting in my favorite chair with my feet up reading the okay book I've started. Or working on my needlework and listening to the even better audio book that I'm glad I stuck with. Maybe popcorn. Definitely coffee.

So what was I doing wearing dress-up clothes, make-up, and shoes at a country club for 4 hours? Interestingly, having a good time. It was a "Meet the Family" gathering for my niece Robin and her fiance Joe who are getting married next May. While I didn't mind actually being there, it kind of hung over my head the past few days - grumble, grumble - don't like to get dressed up - don't feel comfortable with lots of people I don't know - grumble, grumble. And I was feeling this way up until the time my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew arrived.

After we managed to get there with our dueling GPS's and then played circle the parking lot a few times, we made it to the right place. There were a good many members of the groom's family, and I still can't tell you most of their names, but I did manage to kind of sort them out. It was good to see my sister-in-law's family again and talk to them.

Lots of conversation. Lots of picture taking. Excellent food.

And the discovery that the bride's great-grandmother was married to one of the groom's relatives (great-great uncle?). I'll have to sort that out later.

I'm not quite sure how it started unfolding. I talked to a nice lady about my age, and we did the usual stranger-to-stranger chit-chat. She said she had relatives near Andalusia where I grew up and had been to Andalusia a few times. More chatting about nothing. After much talk with others later, it turns out that her grandfather had married my grandmother - both second marriages - in the 1940s. This step-grandfather was a big part of our lives as long as I remember, and I knew he had a son and granddaughter from a previous marriage but had never met them. It was so neat to finally meet her after all these years. She and my brother and I had fun sharing what we remembered of this relative-in-common.

I wouldn't want to spend every Saturday night all dressed up and talking to people, but I'm glad I did this particular night. It was interesting and a lot more enjoyable that I had imagined. I probably should get out more. But maybe not.