have kindly sponsored

I tried not to, but when imaging the meeting between my parents over my wedding, the image of a gunslinger stand off held strong in my mind. My mom and dad standing on the road of a small western town, dust lingering around their boots, hands held slightly away from sides, tension high. Off on the sides, my stepparents stand prepared as their seconds. Oh, yeah, and me safely tucked away in the tavern, drinking round after round of lager and whiskey waiting to hear how it turned out.

Of course the reality was not nearly as exciting. After much rescheduling, my parents finally met at my mom's house for coffee and seemed to come to some sort of amicable conclusion. No sparks flew and no shots were fired. The only similarity was myself in the pub having a few pints nervously awaiting the result.

It is never easy discussing the financial ends of a wedding. And since Gareth and I are flat-out broke, if my parents wanted a big affair (which they do) then we were going to need some serious help. And serious help it seems we will receive, but if it comes with a decent understanding on the part of my family, then I feel that this wedding has joined us in nothing shorter than a miracle. Okay, perhaps a slight exaggeration. They never have had a horrible relationship, but I did not imagine that it could all be settled so easily. Especially when considering how we would be asking them to pay for me to officially leave them for a new country and life, a decision they were not pleased about. They are pleased I found someone like Gareth, but not nearly as pleased we decided to settle outside the US. So it is with great relief that I write this entry. I can only hope that the rest of the planning is conducted with similar rationale.

18 October 1999,

Stacie Lewis