7-Quick Takes

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Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the birth of their new baby. How does Meagan look so great after just giving birth? I wrote about that last year when Kate had her third baby.

1. 
A few years ago, I was the wedding coordinator for a wedding in the old Latin rite. After the rehearsal, I was invited over for the rehearsal dinner. It was held in the church meeting room and consisted of meat and cheese trays, some salads and dessert, and I think soft drinks, lemonade, and iced tea. 

There were no decorations, no fancy centerpieces, and no special deserts. The room was free. The entire cost of the dinner couldn’t have been more than a few hundred dollars. 

And it made such a big impression on me because EVERYONE WAS HAVING A GOOD TIME!  They were laughing, they were talking, they heartily invited me to eat with them. No one went into debt and yet memories were made! It was priceless. 

2.  I thought of that this week when I attended my brother-in-law’s funeral. The dinner was held in an open community space that was half outdoors and half indoors. The food was provided by the people – it was a pot luck funeral!

My neice and sister-in-law made centerpieces out of funeral flowers and jars. There was a wide variety of food and it was delicious. But most importantly, EVERYONE WAS HAVING A GOOD TIME!

No one went into debt and yet we laughed, cried, shared memories, and made new ones. It was priceless.

3.  And the most important thing to me about these two events is that there is more than one way to do things! Just because things have always been done a certain way, doesn’t mean that there isn’t a less expensive, less formal way of doing things that won’t be just as nice in the long run. I appreciate that. 

4.  It’s roughly a 16-hour drive from our home to Oklahoma City. We managed to get through two audio books for the round trip. 

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5.  And just when we got back into Ohio and were only three hours from home, this happened. 

The moral of the story is, even if the tread on the tire that came with the used car looks pretty good, you don’t really know how old it is. you should probably replace it before you take a 1000 mile trip! 


Luckily, Mr. Pete was able to change it quickly and we were soon on our way, but it sure was scary to have that tire disintegrate at 70 mph on the highway!

6.   My brother-in-law was 58. He started having symptoms last August and by the end of April, he was dead. His funeral was packed, his kids clearly loved him, and his wife was devoted to him. That’s a legacy of love that will go on for generations. 

7.  Purgatory- just this. 
This is why we pray for our beloved dead!  

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