Weddings are a beautiful joining of lives but they're also a Herculean feat for two people to become one. They're the beginning of a challenging but rewarding adventure of learning, of being vulnerable and of growing, of having sharp edges and rough spots intensify or be chaffed off. Today Ern and I went to a wedding and it was lovely and simple and elegant, the bride's hair all twisty romantic medievalesque-looking, sweet little yellow and white bouquets lined with kale, a twine fence with the names of guests hanging on it listed next to their table number. The reception was lengthy, lots of food including prime rib and cheese cake and many words, including thanks from the bride and groom. But more than what I saw, I thought more about the marvel of someone with all their complexities and needs and wants trying to find satisfaction and fulfillment in someone else equally flawed-- and failing-- and learning that when that satisfaction is met Elsewhere the ability to forgive grows, the ability to truly love becomes.