5:1

At this time, on this day, five years ago, I was on the patio of the restaurant where The Hubbs and I met.  I was surrounded by family, old and new, and our wedding rehearsal dinner was winding down. 

My grandmother - Dorothy from Kansas - stood in the light from the tiki torches with tears in her eyes.  She looked up at me and grinned.

My maid of honor nudged me and winked as she commented on the fact that it was my last night as a single girl.  We toasted this fact and cackled.

My future grandmother-in-law made me tear up as she told me how proud she was of her grandson and how excited she was that he had found me.

As my future hubby and I prepared to part for the night, I could hardly believe the day was finally here.  He headed out for a night with friends, goofing off at a local hotel, and I headed home alone to get my beauty sleep.

I sat on the couch with my puppy, going over and over every little detail in my head.  I had a moment of gut-wrenching sorrow when it hit me that my own maternal grandparents would not be there to see me marry the man of my dreams. 

That night, alone in my new house that I never would have been able to buy without her help, I realized that I needed to have my grandmother with me.  I sobbed.

I called my mommy.

She came running.

We sat together, winding Grandma's St. Christopher medal - which was blue, by the way - into my bouquet.  Momma even brought Grandma's blue and white handkerchief for me to hang onto.  We laughed, we cried, and we talked.  We remembered wonderful things about Grandma and Grandpa, some things that we hadn't talked about in years...some things that neither of us thought the other would ever have remembered.

Five years ago tonight, the night before my wedding, my mommy tucked me into my bed and stayed with me until I fell asleep.

That, my dear friends, is a night I will never forget.