5 Weddings, 2 Christenings and a Funeral

Yes it's true. My life, well, 2009 anyway, has somewhat resembled the makings of a Richard Curtis film.
I mean, the title works, the cast are in equal amounts hilarious and touching, all beautiful examples of various walks of life - with more than a few possessing pin-up looks and everyman charisma.
There were travels abroad (when the budget was more confident), there were travels interstate, for intimate adventures or grand expeditions. There were dinner table family moments and OTT party scenes, complete with lighting rigs and smoke machines.
The heroine of the piece (and for my ego's sake, can we all just pretend that I am said heroine) had highs and lows. Felt love, shared love, triumphed and failed, was humbled and grateful and has ended the year facing the right direction and in a smaller pair of jeans. Not bad.

Five weddings. Yep, five weddings. What brilliant fabulous things. Each wedding has been incredibly different and original.
The first - Matt and Kathleen, Hunter Valley NSW. Set amongst vineyards, full of music and laughter, a showcase of two wonderful people whom I met as they met - a wedding with all the trimmings and a lashing of Broadway and Disney.
The second - Mairi and Stephen, Edinburgh Scotland. Fancy schmancy and oozing class, but laced with a brilliant sense of humour. The venue was over 500 years old but the feeling was fresh and light - laughter at every turn including a rather rowdy heckling (as is tradition) of the speeches and all the guests dancing a caille - whooping it up and making the merry!
The third - Jordan and Alicia, The Vanguard Newtown Sydney. A rockstar affair. What seemed to start as a right "concert style" up on stage with lights and music and thunderous applause, quickly turned into a touching and intimate affair. Surprising and uplifting and every part them. The only wedding I have been to that had the Golden Girls theme song. The dress was "tizzy" and people did indeed dress up! What a pure delight.
The fourth - Lee and Marlo. The Argyle The Rocks, Sydney. Pure class. The dress was cocktail and it was. These two have been together for ages and it felt like a warm and glorious hug with wonderful family and friends being able to celebrate the marriage with them. Personal touches everywhere to be seen - notably a lolly banquet that could be said, will live on in many a memory. (for me, its the regret of not eating enough of those lollies - I sometimes have lolly-regret flashbacks....)

Around about now the Christenings and funeral kicked in. I know a lot of people aren't big on religion and don't see the point of a Christening or why they could be so moving. Leaving all the religion stuff to the side, these two events that I was invited to, were really special. People inviting me into their lives, their families, to be part of a community that these parents want to see support and love their new little tiny people.
It is a privilege to be at a Christening - to be singled out as important in another family's (that isn't your own) life. Not being a parent, I have no way of knowing what it must feel like to have a life entirely reliant on my own. To be responsible for, not only the tangible things like feeding and clothing this person, but to have the responsibility of their hopes and dreams. Guiding these souls into a world they eventually have to work out for themselves, armed only with the values and qualities you have helped nurture and support. Holy sh*t! It sounds terrifying!!!! So I am honoured that my friends invited me a long and I am so happy for them and their new additions. It seems there was a baby boom this year - no less than 8 little ones have been welcomed into the world by friends of mine. This makes me particularly happy.

Obviously at the other end of the life cycle is the leaving of this world. Only a month ago, my Aunty Lorrie (actually, my Dad's Aunty to be technical) passed away. She was the last remaining Hennessy girl - three sisters including my Nan, who, having lost their own Mother very young, embarked on lives full of adventure and tragedy. Just as I had during my Nan's funeral two years ago, I sat listening to tales of Aunty Lorries life. She was a real roustabout. A right proper tomboy who worked on the farm. She helped raise her eldest sister Pat's children after Pat died prematurely leaving behind four young kids and then helped with her sister Marie's kids (my Nan) after her husband died, leaving her with five young kids. She had time for everyone and let it be known, is the reason I blame for being a chubby kid, because she was, hands down, the best maker of baked dinners and caramel tarts in the land. One serving was never enough!
I am forever amazed by the lives of the members in my family and am all at once humbled by their ability to laugh and look to the future. Such tragedies should leave massive scars and yet these people who shaped me showered me with happy times. Family gatherings are brilliant business to the Buckley folk and I am thankful that their hardships made them closer and I am so very grateful to have led the fortunate life I have as a result.

This brings me to the fifth wedding. It was that perfect timing, after a loss, that reminds you life moves forever forward.
Gillian and Wade, The Painted Fish, Fremantle. Being an out of town wedding, you usually get a few people that will make the effort - this wedding was almost entirely made of guests who had happily made, well, it turns out not much effort at all. This is because it was pure joy to be there! The wedding itself was on a Saturday, but this was a four day event - starting on the Friday night and ending on Monday morning. A reunion of friends and family, its safe to say, who all truly love each other. The atmosphere all weekend was of chilled, blissful jubilation. I still have a smile on my face and warm feeling in my chest. A swell of all the right emotions and a weekend I will remember for a very long time.

Though the year has had hundreds of other events, its these eight that have made me stop and think and learn and grow.

How freaking lucky am I? And to think, I did actually start 2009 by winning the lotto! True. Sure it was not enough to buy a new car - but it did start the year with Woo and a Hoo. Pretty freaking lucky alright.