Delight

This is the word that keeps coming to my mind when I think about my friend Pryor's wedding this past weekend... She was so beautiful and SO happy - literally, a picture of DELIGHT!

Pryor is my oldest friend.  I love our story.  We met in preschool at the Downtown Learning Center when we were three years old. We wore dresses, chased boys, played Barbies (until we were WAY too old), cleaned/decorated/sold lake rocks, hosted tea parties, pretended to be teenagers, and watched 90210 (when we were WAY too young) for the next five years. 

Then, when we were in second grade, Pryor's family announced they were moving to Knoxville, Tennessee.  It was almost twenty years ago, but I still remember the EXACT moment my parents told me this sad news.  I cried and cried. 

But, as it tends to do, life went on.  For a while, we saw each other in the summers; but eventually our friendship faded and our lives went different routes - or so I thought...

However, as fate (or God) would have it, we each became very involved in Young Life in high school, committed our lives to Christ, and accepted - in November of 2001 - admission into Clemson University for the following year. 

Pryor's annual Christmas card came in December announcing that she would be attending Clemson and giving the family email addresses.  I immediately got in touch, and we learned how similar our lives had become...

Six months later, we reunited at Clemson orientation for the first time in nearly ten years. 

We were roommates that fall, and - except for one short stint on the sorority hall for her - we lived together the rest of college. 

She is one of my closest friends and, truly, much of who I am today can be credited to her.  :)

On Saturday, she married her new best friend/roommate, Gregg!

As I mentioned in this post a few weeks ago, things are different now.  When we were in college, we knew EVERYTHING about each other.  Pryor KNEW Jeff - and saw us through MANY ups and downs in our relationship.  (We have a famous little story about when Jeff and Pryor got into an argument over manners - of all things - on our travels in London.  I lectured Jeff on the way home about "being mean to my friends," and he replied "Pryor is MY friend too."  I, of course, relayed this message to Pryor later and she concurred.)

But, now, we have lived in different places for the past four years and her entire dating relationship with Gregg has been separate from me.  Sometimes, I'm sad because I really don't KNOW him.  He knows me, but he doesn't KNOW what our friendship really is.  That's hard for me.

HOWEVER, this weekend, when I saw his tears as he looked at my friend, I KNEW.  He really LOVES her.  She is happy.  And, I know Pryor well enough to trust that. 

They had a beautiful wedding - outside on the farm that Gregg runs in Tennessee.  We sat on hay bales, danced under retro lamp shades, and ate organic food.  It was perfectly Pryor.  It was - in a word - delightful.

Congratulations Pryor and Gregg!  I love you BOTH; and Gregg, I can't wait to be "your friend too." 

P.S. (As if this isn't already long enough.)  Pryor is at least partially responsible for giving me my nickname "E."  Although my sister officially started it, Pryor carried it beyond my family and into college - because she was my friend back when Kathryn first started talking... Today, most people from Clemson don't recognize me by any other name.  Just FYI.

Oh, and one more thing, PLEASE come back for the VERY FIRST "Mid-Week Laughs" Blog Carnival, right HERE tomorrow!  It's even wedding themed!!!  (Find instructions, etc. here.)