Sister Celebration

Cynthia and Barb with yours truly, the official witness.
My sister Cynthia and her partner Barb from Colorado recently came to town for some jolly  celebrations.
First up, they got married!
They came to New York City to tie the knot as same-sex marriage is not yet passed in Colorado. With all of their paper work done ahead of time, they were scheduled to get married at the City Clerk office one recent morning. I was honored that they asked me to be their witness.
That morning I put on a tie and a jacket and looked in the mirror and saw looking back at me my uncle Brian Mumford and my grandmother Florence Mumford. I was bringing the spirit of my mother with me.
I met Cynthia and Bart outside the City Clerk office early and we went in. The Marriage Bureau is a nice big municipal space with marble walls and high ceilings. Other couples were there too to get married. New York's wonderful spectrum was represented with straight and gay couples and all different races and creeds and ages and sizes and colors and mixed marriages. Everyone was in a happy, celebratory mood, and the people who worked there were very pleasant and helpful. I believe that New York is marketing itself as a wedding destination. It was a very fun experience.
First we got a numbered ticket and waited for the number to light up over a window, like at the Department of Motor Vehicles. We proceeded to the right window to sign papers and then we were directed to wait outside a chapel where a Justice of the Peace presided. There were couples ahead of us and behind us and everyone was taking pictures. Then we were ushered into a bright, cheerful, pink room where the short Justice of the Peace stood behind a tall podium and recited the vows.
We were in and out in less than an hour.
Married!

Mazel tov!
Afterwards we went to lunch. Cynthia said to me, "Thank you for coming and thank you for paving the way."
The next night Cynthia and Barb hosted a celebratory family dinner at a tapas restaurant in Chelsea called Tia Pol where we commandeered the back private room and enjoyed a never ending procession of delicious tapas and red wine -

I recommend Tia Pol if you are in the neighborhood. 
The following evening my brother Thom and his family hosted a birthday party for Cynthia at their apartment (a big birthday for her).
Here we are, the four siblings - Thom, me, Cynthia, Eric - on Thom's deck -

followed by the Boehlert boys - my father, nephew Aaron and his father Thom, me, nephew Ben and his father Eric -

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner on the deck with the buildings of the Flatiron District rising around us -

It was a great weekend of happy events. Thanks to Cynthia for bringing the party to New York.
Since then I have been to two funerals. Enjoy the present moment the best you can.
Live and love.