Meeting new people--and saying good-bye to others

So I went to Indi and Kim's wedding last weekend. And to be honest, as excited as I was for them both, I kinda struggled with it. It's hard to lose a friend of seven years (well 5 i guess)--and without an explanation at that.... to not know what's going on in either of their lives, to know I never will (they're moving to California), and to watch people (that I introduced them to) be a bigger part of their lives than I am. It hurt much more than I thought it would--and I found it hard to say good-bye. Cuz what do you say? God's working on me though.

Regardless, on a funnier note, I have a story that you might enjoy:).

So I used to be so proud of myself cuz I often remembered peoples' names before they could even remember where they met me. Well, there were several people at the wedding that I had met before, but I needed to jog my memory.....

Feeling confident, I struggled with the name of a girl all through the wedding until finally, I proudly proclaimed to Dustin that her name was Lindsey Jones. Feeling good about myself, I proceeded to the next person who looked vaguely familiar. Could it be Mary? Not sure. Sounds right. I'll think on it.

Well, we went to the reception--which was a stand-up-and-mingle deal--and Dustin took off toward the bathrooms. Meanwhile, I'm tooling around when a girl comes in--who ALSO looks familiar.

"Hello Bethany" she says.

Oh crap, I think to myself. I hate it when they know my name before I can think of theirs. She looks like Sara, I think to myself. Yup--pretty sure. But too unsure to say it....so I respond with "I'm so sorry, but I can't remember your name."

"Sara." she says.

Whew--at least I was close. Sara Council even. So I knew her--but not when it really mattered:).

"Hey--have you seen Lindsey Johnson?" she asks.

"Oh! Lindsey JOHNSON. I thought it was Jones but I couldn't remember" as I point out Lindsey to her.

"You don't know Lindsey Johnson?" she asks incredulously

"Well I know of her, but I just couldn't remember her last name" (Besides, I'd be even more proud of myself if I didn't know her and I happened to point out the correct person in a crowd of about a hundred people:).)

"Have you seen Mary?" she continues the torture.

"Ahhhh! I thought it was Mary, but I couldn't remember her name either"

"You don't know Mary?" she asks (I think I'm experiencing deja vu now)

Again, the ridiculous return of the statement about knowing of someone without actually knowing them.

Finally, the inquisition stops and she walks away. But to my relief, Mary comes waltzing in! Feeling as though I can redeem myself, I touch her elbow and say "Mary, Sara's looking for you!"

She follows the direction of my pointing finger and says she doesn't see her. I tell her that she's over there with Lindsey Johnson--feeling mighty proud of myself. To which she responds: "I'm not Mary"

awkward silence

"I'm actually Carmen, but my sister's name is Sarah so it wasn't completely wrong"

How nice of her to pity me.

I think I laughed at myself and made general conversation as I proceeded to introduce myself to this stranger I called Mary.

Much to my happiness, I realize that at this point, Dustin has returned from the bathroom and witnessed it all. His edifying and supportive comment? "Smooth" :)

Weddings are such a joyous occasion:)