Wedding Weekend
I'm in a wedding this weekend in Boston. More specifically, Salem, Massachusetts. For a while, I was kind of stressed about the long drive, the dress not fitting, missing 4 days of work, and finding a place to stay for the first night. But now it's close enough to the wedding that all those things are taken care of and I'm finally getting excited!
On a kind of bizarrely-related note, I've been thinking lately about how friendly Americans are. It's one of the reasons I'm proud of us as a nation. Austrians, I can assure you, are not as friendly, as a whole. Sure, they are nice enough, once you drag them out of their shell or spend 6 months in their classroom. But you don't just say hi to them on the street or strike up conversations in the elevator. The English are even worse. At least when you try to speak to an Austrian, he or she will answer you. In England, they just look at you like you're probably insane or more likely, an ax murderer. Either way, it can't be good. Here, I went to this little old lady's house to get my dress fixed for the wedding. I rang the doorbell, was shown in, and waited for the woman to get to me. As I was waiting her adorable old husband came up to me and told me the muffler on my (dad's) car was hanging low, and if I hit a big bump, it'd break right off.
"Oh gosh," I said. "Thanks for letting me know!"
"Do you want me to just hook it up there for you?"
"... Really? You'd do that?"
"Of course. It's no problem."
So he wrapped a little chain around it to keep it from breaking off until I could get it fixed. How nice is that? Went right out of his way to do that for me, out of the goodness of his heart. And his wife was equally nice. She chatted with me while I was in the dressing room about weddings these days and how much they cost. When I came back to have a fitting a few days later, the husband opened the door with, "Hello, pretty lady! Dear, there's a pretty lady here to see you!" She came out of the bathroom with a, "Hello, pretty lady! Good to see you again."
People like this encourage me. I love that they are so happy and peaceful with their lot. It's really wonderful. I will make sure to recommend anyone in the area to her. She does great work and gets it done fast! I only had a week to get my dress altered, and she seemed to think it was no big deal at all. When I tried it on after she'd worked her magic it fit perfectly. Yay!
We're leaving Thursday morning. I rented a car and we're driving up to Winchester to stay the night with a very dear and very old friend of mine, Jillian! I haven't seen her in probably 8 years. I'm very excited. The next two nights we're staying at a hotel in Salem, and coming home Sunday after brunch. And on Friday, all the bridesmaids are having a spa day, so I get a massage, a manicure, and a pedicure! It will be so nice to have a little mini-vacation. I hope you all have awesome plans for the weekend, too. :) Please share if you do!
On a kind of bizarrely-related note, I've been thinking lately about how friendly Americans are. It's one of the reasons I'm proud of us as a nation. Austrians, I can assure you, are not as friendly, as a whole. Sure, they are nice enough, once you drag them out of their shell or spend 6 months in their classroom. But you don't just say hi to them on the street or strike up conversations in the elevator. The English are even worse. At least when you try to speak to an Austrian, he or she will answer you. In England, they just look at you like you're probably insane or more likely, an ax murderer. Either way, it can't be good. Here, I went to this little old lady's house to get my dress fixed for the wedding. I rang the doorbell, was shown in, and waited for the woman to get to me. As I was waiting her adorable old husband came up to me and told me the muffler on my (dad's) car was hanging low, and if I hit a big bump, it'd break right off.
"Oh gosh," I said. "Thanks for letting me know!"
"Do you want me to just hook it up there for you?"
"... Really? You'd do that?"
"Of course. It's no problem."
So he wrapped a little chain around it to keep it from breaking off until I could get it fixed. How nice is that? Went right out of his way to do that for me, out of the goodness of his heart. And his wife was equally nice. She chatted with me while I was in the dressing room about weddings these days and how much they cost. When I came back to have a fitting a few days later, the husband opened the door with, "Hello, pretty lady! Dear, there's a pretty lady here to see you!" She came out of the bathroom with a, "Hello, pretty lady! Good to see you again."
People like this encourage me. I love that they are so happy and peaceful with their lot. It's really wonderful. I will make sure to recommend anyone in the area to her. She does great work and gets it done fast! I only had a week to get my dress altered, and she seemed to think it was no big deal at all. When I tried it on after she'd worked her magic it fit perfectly. Yay!
We're leaving Thursday morning. I rented a car and we're driving up to Winchester to stay the night with a very dear and very old friend of mine, Jillian! I haven't seen her in probably 8 years. I'm very excited. The next two nights we're staying at a hotel in Salem, and coming home Sunday after brunch. And on Friday, all the bridesmaids are having a spa day, so I get a massage, a manicure, and a pedicure! It will be so nice to have a little mini-vacation. I hope you all have awesome plans for the weekend, too. :) Please share if you do!
Have fun, pretty lady!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy to read this after your last post! It seems like you found the the complement to your earlier experiences at work (:
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet story. Enjoy your trip, pretty lady!
ReplyDeleteI love American friendliness too! We don't get everything right, but we are a pretty friendly bunch. :-)
ReplyDeleteI remember being in Oregon, driving from AK to CO and after meeting this old guy insisted on fixing our light right then and there so we wouldn't have to worry about tickets. Random kindness is so wonderful!
Have fun!