The fog hasn't quite lifted from my body yet this morning, as we approach the afternoon. The weekend was a tangled mess of fun and debauchery, chaos and beauty, laughter and tears, drinking and smoking, and family. I probably participated in all of the previous verbs, I say probably due to the multiple empty bottles of Hendrick's, Jameson, and Grey Goose I stumbled over 2 mornings in a row. As promised, I did not abuse any alcohol put before me, it was all treated to a nice and easy ride starting at the lips and making its way through the inner workings of my liver, stomach and eventually, the bottom of a urinal. There were no reverse routes made by said alcohol through the weekend, amazingly enough! But enough of my consumption, I'm sure my mother is going to love reading this, but she'll be happy to know that a great time was had by everyone.
Friday afternoon I headed out to on the road for what should have been about a two hour drive to the middle of no where, at the base of Mt St Helen's. Forty five minutes into my drive, I was 13.8 miles from home. I don't know why there is always so much traffic near Ft. Lewis military base. I'm told it's not always like that, I guess I'm just lucky enough to consistently hit it when heading south. During my sit through bumper to bumper military traffic, I took a few minutes to run through what I had packed for the weekend. Next to me in my truck was everything one could possibly need on a short road trip; laptop, iPhone, directions, 2 cans of Carb Free Rockstar, and a powerbar, a super hot 16 oz Quad Skinny Mocha in the cup holder to boot. A/C blasting away as the outside temp approached 90, phone in hand trading text messages with friends, anything to pass the time of traffic. I shifted attention from the front seat to the extra cab of my truck and ran the mental inventory of what I had actually packed up. Suit, dress shoes, dress shirts, bathroom bag, sleeping bag, shorts, t-shirts, flip flops...and then it hit me. The 2 dress shirts I grabbed were both black, perfect for an outdoor wedding in the blazing sun, and the most important part of packing for a weekend of fun, I forgot underwear. How do you forget to pack drawls? Sorry mom, I know better, but the good news is, I immediately formed a contingency plan. My mom is quite the shopper, which kind of turned me into one as well. The minute I realized I had no drawls other than the ones I'd been sitting in for a full day of work and now resting my arse in traffic, and was in need of a suitable dress shirt for a wedding, I immediately remembered the factory outlet mall about 30 miles ahead in Chehalis. A quick run through a couple stores with no luck landed me walking into Ralph Lauren. Yes, I went in and actually bought a shirt. Not only did I buy a shirt, the lady steamed it for me, put it in a garment bag and left it on the nice wooden hanger. Talk about service, well worth the 20 bucks I paid for an 80 dollar shirt, right? Next was a run into the Hanes store for a four pack of boxer briefs and I was back on the road. 18 min total shopping stop (would have been under 10 if the steamer had already been hot), something I learned from my dad about shopping, Get in, get out. I5 southbound, still an hour to go.
I rolled into the marrying spot about 9 o'clock and was greeted with beer and friends, in no particular order. The place was pretty cool, even in the middle of no where. Andersen Lodge is a Swedish replica of what I presume is the Andersen's place in, well, Sweden. Huge log cabin type place with multiple patio's, eating areas inside and out, a tennis court, volleyball court, and a fire pit with a stage built out like an amphitheater. All of this under the shadow of Mt St Helen's, sounds sweet yeah? It really was a fun place to have our group of friends. Over the next few hours, car after car full of the crew arrived. With every car load, was another hug, another laugh, and hell, another fresh beer. I don't quite remember when the bright idea to start in on liquor occurred, but by 3:30 am, my bottle of Hendricks Gin was empty and I was the only one drinking it.
Saturday morning started late opposed to my normal weekend wake hour, 9:00 am. I remember rolling over to check the clock on my phone and expected to see 5 or 6 am, so seeing 9 was a welcome surprise. Rolled out of bed and hit about 6 straight cups of Folgers out of last nights rocks glass, felt like college all over again, but in a good way. Much to my delight (yeah, I said it 'DELIGHT'), little by little, my crew of hardcore party people were all coming out of the same slumber ready to start all over again. There was talk of a liquor store run, but no one really felt up to the hour plus round trip, and of course, it's not like any of us came unprepared, we're all professionals here. By 11 we were all jumping into various cars; backpacks and coolers full of adult beverages, and heading to the lake. I have no idea what the name of this lake is, but can tell you that a state run park where alcohol is prohibited, is going to need more than an 80 year old in a golf cart to catch us being sneaky, like I said, we're pro's at this! We all hung out at the beach for a few hours, roasting in the sun, jumping in the arctic temperature water, pounding beers and pounding fists, laughing like kids. Something about being out of town together, with little responsibility directly in front of us, that takes me back to when I started this lifelong friendship with these folks. 15 years later, give or take, we're still as much fun as ever, despite the changes in many of our lives.
By 1:30, it was time for a nap. While I'm not sure I ever really feel asleep (Graham would dispute that I hadn't slept, apparently he was going to recreate the 'Cheesy Poof's Incident'), I did finally get out of my bed around 3:00. The wedding was starting at 4:00. A quick run down to the shower room in a towel and my bathroom bag through the Swedish lodge and into the smallest shower ever, complete with the coldest water that has ever been blasted across my body. Was worried someone might lose an eye at any moment if a nipple shot off, i kept my head down. Got the clothes together and knew better than to get dressed right away since the 90 degree air temp meant that inside the lodge it had to be another 10 degrees warmer, no sense in putting on pants. Plus, walking around in a towel and a tank top helped keep the college theme present (tried to influence a Toga theme for the ceremony but got overruled). By 3:55 I was dressed, wool sport coat and all, feeling good, ready to watch some great people get married.
Ceremony was short and sweet, Brooke looked amazing and Brent didn't let the nerves get the best of him. Our friend Jessica officiated over the nuptials, and I think she was more nervous than anyone. "I Do's" over, it's time to party.
Of course there was apps and dinner and drinking, great toasts and good tears. It was a really fun wedding. The rest of the night was as crazy as the previous, maybe more so. I'll spare the details here as I really am trying to maintain this stellar innocent reputation I know I'm regarded for. I don't know everything that happened, but I did hear about a broken arm bathroom incident, an axe landed in the bonfire, and well, it was 4 am before I finally crawled into my bed.
I'm happy this weekend was as awesome as it was, I needed that. I really needed that, it's been a long time since I've let it all out, and I almost forgot about that part of me. I don't know how many times I had someone tell me they missed me or was so happy to have me there. That meant a lot and means more than I can spell out in words. I think Bethany got to witness that first site Friday night as we talked and of course one of us had to get all emotional. She helped wipe my tears so no one needed to see me looking like a baby, she's seriously one of the coolest women in the world and I am lucky to have her as such an amazing friend. I had a couple more conversations that went like that, even with my boys, who still hug it out right after someone gets choked, it's how it goes. I'm proud to have the people in my life, that mean so much to me, and value our friendship beyond what most people will ever know. I'm lucky, lucky as hell to have the type of support and love that these guys put out.
So, here's to you! May God bless us all with many more years to come where we can drink and dance like we're 20, and still show up to work on Monday. love you guys
Stay Blessed-
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