On the Royal Wedding

Sigh. I'm not ashamed, I watched the royal wedding between Prince William and Catherine Middleton this morning. I actually woke up my six-year-old Taleyah to come with. :-)  I remember watching Prince Charles and Lady Diana get married back in 1981 with my mom. I was home from school I think. But this morning, we had a small window of opportunity to watch it as we were getting ready for work and school. Very romantic and magical. My youngest, Dakota, was also entranced. She watched it after she got up. When she saw the dress, she's like, "the princess, the princess," pointing at the tv. How did she know all this? And Taleyah was watching intently. Mouth open.

In retrospect, this is what most little girls dream of--to be like a princess on her wedding day. Or to just be a princess, like Tiana from Princess and the Frog. The last time I was talking to Taleyah about getting married, I took a decidely modern approach. I didn't tell her, after they were married, they lived happily ever after, like most of us heard. Such a myth. When I was younger, I always said that was a misconception. I just told her, after they got married, they continued to live and to work through the rest of their lives as happily as they could together. It's not always going to be happy. There are challenges to live through. You have to decide which challenges are worth it and which aren't. But you have to make sure you're equally yoked to the one you're with, and everyone has to be on the same page. Happily ever after gives the impression that nothing ever goes wrong, and you smile through it all the time.

But that's the reality of our lives--its challenges, its joys, its sadness, its ups and downs. I was happy to see William find the love he was looking for, especially with all that he and Harry have been through--especially with the loss of their mother.

In terms of the wedding, I liked the top bodice of Kate's dress by Sarah Burton. I thought the bottom seemed a little plain. She could have put some of the lacing below, but all in all she was beautiful and well put together. I liked her maid of honor's dress. The kiss was a disappointment--way too short. For some reason, it looked like she was pulling away for the second kiss. In comparing theirs to his parents, I think I read where about half an hour before they got married, Prince Charles told Lady Di he didn't love her. That was devastating. What was she to do. She loved him; plus she was 19, a young bride. In kissing him, her neck was over-extended for the kiss. Prince William's was a little too. But in looking at their body, both their belly buttons seem to be outward, more focused on the people not so much facing each other. I wonder what Janine Driver would say. She's the body language expert who says to look at people's belly buttons to see where their interests and hearts are.