Footnotes to a Former Life.

Hello to any readers still there,

Apologies for the sudden disappearance. Deadlines and grading consumed me so completely that posting simply ceased to exist for a few days.

Let’s see… where to begin.

First, I am now ten times more excited for my upcoming time off because clearly I need it. Lately I’ve been worked like a dog with an endless pile of papers and assignments to grade. The good news is that I have finally caught up, which feels like a small miracle.

Thursday was unexpectedly eventful. I received a frantic message that my friend’s sister somehow ended up near my hometown after her train broke down and she hitchhiked the rest of the way. Yes. Hitchhiked. Naturally I panicked and immediately called my mom so she could wait with her until her parents arrived to pick her up. Everything turned out fine, thankfully, but honestly if that were my sister I would have slapped her for doing something so dangerous. Especially considering the city her train broke down in. At that point I would have simply turned around and gone home. But alas… the youth. What are we supposed to do with them?

Now moving on to the real adventure: the bridal shower.

This past weekend was… interesting, to say the least.

I’m the maid of honor for one of my oldest friends. This weekend we had her bridal shower and let me just say, I have not been that mentally exhausted in a long time. That event truly did a number on me. It was so hard to keep up a facade this time around.

I was essentially thrown to the wolves with very little backup. The other bridesmaids… let’s just say they were not exactly helpful. Between them, the bride’s mother, and various aunts, there were passive-aggressive comments flying around all afternoon like we were participating in some sort of Olympic sport.

At one point one of the bridesmaids showed up wearing an outfit that made it look like she was the one the shower was for. I made a small comment along the lines of, “Oh… you’re wearing white today?” which I thought was reasonable considering we had all agreed the bride would be the one standing out in white.

Apparently this was controversial.

The other bridesmaids immediately jumped in to defend her, “But she looks cute!” which, yes, she did. That was never the issue. My point was simply that the bride was supposed to be the one standing out that day. But I let it go and said it was fine anyway since I had brought a sash for the bride.

Well.

That bridesmaid later left the shower and called the bride, claiming that I had told her to change her outfit. Which I absolutely did not.

At that point, honestly, I stopped caring. The day was about my friend and she had a good time, which is what mattered. But it would have been nice to have a little backup when everything was happening all at once.

Thankfully the waitresses, my book lady, and the bride’s mother-in-law were wonderful and very supportive.

But wow — weddings really do bring out the absolute craziness in people. I truly don’t understand it. Shouldn’t we all just be celebrating the couple and moving on with our lives?

The funniest part of all this is that these bridesmaids used to say we were all friends. Maybe once upon a time. Lately it feels more like they’re simply the bride’s cousins and I am her friend.

Experiences like this are honestly part of the reason I occasionally consider changing my phone number and disappearing into the woods when I move.

And before anyone says “well they’re family”… that still doesn’t excuse bad behavior. I’ve always believed that family includes the people you choose to keep in your life, not just the people you happen to be related to.

My family circle is small for a reason. I have my mom, my stepdad, and my siblings — and that’s honestly all I need.

As for the rest… well, I’m old enough now to know when it’s better to quietly distance yourself from people who drain your energy.

Anyway. What a truly eventful weekend. At least I’m home now. Back to grading! Wish me luck!

13 days left until the quarter ends.

These are the footnotes to whatever comes next…

Footnotes to a Former Life.

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