Elizabeth Engaged

Daughter Elizabeth is engaged to be married on October 8, 2016 in our Mormon temple near Boston, Massachusetts. Liz and Tyson Benard have been exclusive for over a year, and many family members have wondered what was taking so long. But we supported their desire to take their time and move forward when they felt the time was right.

One afternoon during our camp-out in Island Park, ID in July, I was busy preparing for the evening meal and walked behind our pop-up to use the water spigot to rinse my hands. I saw that Sam and Tyson were talking as they worked together to change two of the pop-up tires. As soon as I saw them together, I knew that Tyson was asking for Liz’s hand in marriage. A week later, we got the news that Tyson had proposed.

And the fun begins!

Some mothers-of-the-bride may blanch at the thought of pulling off a wedding and open house in less than two months, but you can’t scare me! Our oldest daughter, Ashley, became engaged at Thanksgiving and was married the day after Christmas.

Now, with Liz living in Provo and me here in New York, most of the planning and strategizing is being done over the phone and with the help of Google Drive. Fortunately Liz has modest plans that all seem doable. It warms my heart that she wants her New York reception to be held BBQ-style in our back yard with hay bales, painted pallets, and white Christmas lights for decoration.

This is not to say that I’m always as cool as an October morning. In fact, I lay awake for two hours last night thinking about details still to be worked out and other things such as the cake and the flowers that Liz and I had not yet discussed. I finally fell back to sleep and was able to catch another two hours after Sam left for work.

I’m capable of ‘hitting the ground running.’ I’ve done it before. But with how busy this summer has been, it’s taking me longer to recover, or maybe I’m reluctant to shrug out of vacation mode and swing back into the fray.

I’m happy and excited for Liz and Tyson. They’ve put time and effort into their relationship and are now ready to celebrate by making eternal commitments to each other. I’m proud of them both.

As I sit here typing at the table in our pop-up, I know I have things left to do today. I’ll finish and post today’s 500 words on my “Happy Empty Nesters” blog. Then I’ll study The Book of Mormon and read a few pages of The Infinite Atonement by Tad R. Callister. After that I’ll start a Google Sheets document and begin entering names of people for Liz to send wedding announcements and invitations to. In 1 ½ hours Sam and Jessica will come back to the campsite from work and the four of us will float in inner tubes down the Schroon River.

Tomorrow I will hit the ground running.