Colorado Combine

I have this recurring image in my head. It’s a pan through a car, with beautiful landscapes passing by quickly. The shot goes to the back seat where a boy is looking out the window daydreaming. It sits on this shot for a while with Joanna Newsom playing. Then it snaps to black. That will be the start of my movie if I ever make one. I know it’s been done, but it just speaks to me. I like to feel how the boy feels, curious and calm. He is aware that where he is being taken is worth it, that he must just wait.

My adventure begins tomorrow, to Braden and Rachel’s wedding! The story around them fascinates me. Two people who for years were basically family. Two people no one could have ever guessed getting together. Yet with time and growing, they both became compatible people. They happened upon each other and in that moment saw something different than the thousands of other times they were around each other.

I enjoy being around them. They radiate happiness. This is partly because of the relationship, but mainly because they are both genuinely happy people. I have seen them both in a variety of moods and states. But the default for them is overwhelming joy. That might be something that drew them closer.

I know Rachel as a little sister. In the early times she was just around. I don’t know if she was just shy or if we couldn’t hear her. She soon became a young woman full of ideas and hopes. She was constantly up for an adventure with Kevin, Seth, and I. Most of my thoughts of her are tied up in her kindness. She just has this ability to be with people and put them at ease. She rarely is thinking of herself, constantly pushing outwards trying to see what she can do for others.

Braden at his core shares these qualities. At times I felt out of place, as if I didn’t fit in the group of older boys. He would change that instantly with one of his hugs. He infuses you with love and you understand him. He wants that back; he wants you to accept and love him back. I remember the day my misconceptions were broken. I thought of him as a jock type, not an intellectual person. Then he started talking to me about books and all the fiction that he loved. I was just a dumb kid who thought all people were one thing. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

So off we go to a wedding. It’s in a beautiful area with my favorite people. I am expectant with the memories I will make. With the stories that will be told. The conversations of dreams and love that will happen. I expect much, because my family rarely disappoints. So here is to Braden and Rachel! Never think it can’t happen. Never underestimate the person you can become. Be filled with joy and happiness. It’s time for a wedding!