My mother, as of late, calls, asks the mandatory "how are you what are you doing?" and within three seconds time had developed the tense, questioning tone that demands: "How is the wedding planning going?" Before I get must past "Well" she's launched into a thorough list of what she's been up to and asks what I think and before I've fully assessed what I think we are pretty much on to the next aspect of the whole affair - tents, food, band - and lately, the wedding planner. We'd agreed early on that we might not need one and then that we might, but only for the day of, and now that we might and she might need to tell us exactly what to do before we decide upon one more tiny detail. "We might need help with things, Cara, like table linens," my mother explained. Truthfully, I'm very happy with my mother's enthusiasm towards all this and the prospect of a wedding planner. As someone who enjoys planning parties as much as I do, one might think I'd want to do it all on my own, but it's really quite the opposite. If we can get everyone in on this, counting a professional, and furthermore, no one is worried that my friends and I will mess up the house, well, I'm alright with that.

In other good news, even if the unthinkable happens and J and I suddenly cannot stand one another and must part, things will be ok. The other night we talked jovially about who would take who in the case we broke up. Teddy, the cat, would be his, Justin said, Cecilia would be mine and he'd never seen her again, and we'd have joint custody of Mina. I asked Justin if he'd ever cleaned the litter box to which he replied that he'd done it, once, he thought. When I told him he'd need to do it nearly daily he exclaimed "What!? I thought you only did that every month or so!" It's a good thing we love each other so much that Teddy will have us both. It's a good thing we'll have the wedding planner to help infuse that love into a wedding, with the right music, plenty of liquor, and exquisite table linens.