Roxanne’s Not-A-Speech Wedding Story
Many of you know that our oldest daughter got married this summer.
It was an event of such family celebration that six weeks later, we’re still riding the high.
During the reception, her father made a lovely speech about change and growth in marriage. (Plus fatherly wisdom and the usual lightly-veiled parental threat of they’ll-never-find-your-body-if-you-ever-hurt-her.)
I heard it for the first time while we were standing at the podium and it made me cry.
I am lucky to be married to such an insightful (and teachable!) man.
I was unlucky to be the following act, especially since I’m lame at speeches.
But I like stories. And since we’re a family of avid readers, it seemed fitting that I read a story that I wrote when our daughters were very young.
A few people have asked about it, and Stephanie has given me permission to share, so here it is:
Initiation
Once upon a time a young couple had a baby. This utterly unremarkable occurrence that happens every day around the globe, ordinary as dirt, was as momentous to them as a meteor hitting the ground. Unbelievable, really, to think that a 6 pound 4 ounce bundle of eyes and limbs and noise could turn a naïve, hesitant girl to mother and a nervous, unprepared boy into a father.
Unbelievable, really, that they were allowed to leave the hospital with her.
These uncertain parents took great pains to learn their new roles. The baby was fed and changed and rocked. The mother played Patty-Cake, read Runaway Bunny, sang Twinkle Twinkle. The father played Choo-Choo with the strained peas and gave tummy raspberries. The baby grew smiley and cuddly and learned to wave her arms to be picked up.
She also learned to spit those strained peas and scream in the grocery store and weep and wail when the lights went out. From the very start, this baby, like all babies, took, took and took. And the parents gave, gave and gave, because that’s what parents do.
Time passed. The little girl grew strong and mobile, and her needs changed. She began to ask questions. Lots and lots of questions. She began to say no. To many, many things. She learned to love Cheerios, to hate her car seat, to become a big sister, to resent sharing, to be excited about vacations, to demand “I wanna go home, I wanna go home,” at bedtime in a hotel.
The mother loved her baby, but sometimes she was afraid, and even angry at how much was required of her. Sometimes, in secret, the father wondered if he was strong enough, or smart enough to do this wonderful, terrifying job. But each night, when they looked at their little girl sprawled crosswise in the bed, her hair every which way, limp with sleep and replete with trust, they felt themselves grow and become somehow… more… than they were before she was born.
One day the mother looked up from her work and saw with a start that the baby who had changed her life had sprouted tall. Her face was steady and knowing, and there was a slender grace to her once-gangly limbs. The mother searched wonderingly for signs of her baby and found her again in the clear blue eyes that sparkled just as they did on the day they first opened on the world.
Then, as the mother watched, she saw this baby-child-woman stoop suddenly to kiss her little sister. The sight of that small, unbidden kindness caused the mother’s heart to leap and swell and with a gasp, she felt all the care, all the giving rush back, bursting upon her like a garden in spring.
The years went on and the parents – naturally – were called upon again and again to give of themselves. But now when they do it returns in a flood, a stream of love looping back, growing swifter, stronger, wider, magnifying and spreading, bringing with it new, fresh gifts and more joy than those parents could have ever imagined.
Once upon a time a young couple had a baby. And she rocked their world.Thank you, Stephanie, for bringing Steven into our lives. We love you both so much!
Heat Wave Getting to You?
May I recommend immersing yourself in a snowy romance novella, perhaps while drinking something cold, slushy and icy? My novella Saving the Sheriff, previously released as part of the Stranded With a Hero anthology from Entangled Bliss, will be out under its own cover July 28.
So cool off this summer with a sheriff, an elf, a truckload of reindeer and a black-out blizzard:
The power might be out…but the heat is on.
Every year, free-spirited Frankie Sylva banishes her holiday loneliness with good deeds. This time, she’s rescuing a truckload of neglected reindeer—until a blizzard sidetracks her scheme, and now she’s stuck…literally.
Local sheriff Red LeClair is shocked to find a very cute, half-frozen woman trespassing on Three River Ranch in a ditched rig, with a suspiciously empty trailer. Is she a horse thief? Is she on the run? Is she out of her mind? He has no choice but to take her back to the ranch and keep an eye on her.
But when the power goes out, Red and Frankie are forced to depend on each other in a way that both have avoided for years. The sheriff’s quiet holiday is suddenly festive: a crackling fire, candles, carols, and an irresistible stranger…who might be a felon.
Thanks for visiting Three River Ranch and enjoy the sunshine!
Here’s what readers are saying about Saving the Sheriff:
5 stars: “… the Three River Ranch series is up with my fave Bliss books… with the romance, touching moments, fun and laugh-out-loud humor of all of the Three River Ranch full-length offerings, I loved it.” – Nicola_1202 from South Yorkshire, UK
4.5 stars: “You will smile, laugh, and probably cry a little bit.” -Kim “Read Your Writes Book Reviews”
“Excellent story… As I’ve been reading the series, I’ve come to feel more of a vested interested in the protection of the wildlife around us. I love it when I’m about to learn something while I enjoy a good story. WTG Ms. Snopek.” – an Amazon customer from Nebraska
“This happens to be my favorite story of all of them.” -Melody May from Montana
“…this story has all the Christmas cheer you could ever want.” -BookishLove
Love You Forever
Yesterday, while picking up a few things for our daughter’s garden wedding next month, I happened to come across the Robert Munsch book Love You Forever. I stopped in my tracks in the Wal-Mart stationery section, scrambling to hang onto my tub of Miracle-Gro, fresh bottle of Advil, Miracle Revitalist face cream and Hello Kitty pajama pants.
There it was, the book that made me cry when I read it to our babies, staring at me the month before our first baby’s wedding. Yup, that’s me, bawling in Wal-Mart.
If you have children and a heart in your chest, read this book. You could read it to your dog, too. But bring tissues. (And buy the hard copy. This is not an e-reader kind of book.)