Ultimate Croquet

We are in New Brunswick now, at the Marshall cottage on Bay du Vin. This is the landscape of Brendan’s childhood summers – ocean, beach, campfires and Ultimate Croquet. This year’s game of Ultimate Croquet was a much-anticipated event – Brendan had been planning it since before we arrived. The timing of such a game has to be calculated just right, as the beach is in play and the tide can have a significant effect on the level of difficulty. There was much discussion this year about the optimal time to play, but we finally set up the wickets yesterday evening after the babies went to bed (two other couples were with us, one of which has a 13-month-old). Ultimate Croquet is much less straightforward than regular croquet. In fact, the whole purpose of Ultimate Croquet is to be the least straightforward possible. Wickets are set up in ruts on the road, over a mangled mess of tree roots, among rocks on the beach, on sandbars surrounded by the rising tide, etc. One person often lags behind quite significantly, getting tripped up on every possible obstacle, or just having the misfortune of a bad croquet swing. Yesterday that person was me. I did well at the end, though (when I was the last person still playing). In my zeal to reach the finish line, I made a couple good shots and proclaimed that if I hadn’t been so far behind at first, I likely would not have lost. I didn’t realize this was funny until everyone else laughed. I suppose it was rather like saying, “if I weren’t last, I wouldn’t have lost!” Oh well. Someone has to come in last!

Besides playing Ultimate Croquet, we’ve been spending our cottage time catching up with friends and family, eating good food, swimming, and enjoying some well-earned naps. It’s nice to be on holiday.

A few photos from our time in New Brunswick so far:

Liam and his friend Oleander in Bear Island (where Ole and his parents live)

Liam with his Uncle Owen (Brendan's brother), Cousin Eloise, and their dog, Buster

Eloise at Nana & Papa's

Sunset at the cottage

Liam at 10 months

Chris and Leah's Epic Wedding Weekend

On July 1st, my dad walked his youngest daughter down the aisle. We celebrated the third wedding in our family in two years, and now all the Cogan girls are married. The morning was spent as per tradition on Cogan wedding days: all the girls gather at Mom & Dad’s, hair is done and makeup applied, breakfast brought in by friends, photos taken, excitement manifested in frequent laughter. When the time comes, the bridesmaids put on their dresses and join the bride in an upstairs bedroom to help her into her gown. Then, as the girls look on eagerly, Dad is allowed in the room to admire his soon-to-be-wed daughter. Some of the most tender photos of the day are taken at this moment. This happened on my wedding day two years ago and immediately became an unspoken tradition – we watched the same events unfold on October 30th, 2010 for Jessica and on Friday for Leah.

Another of my favourite wedding moments is watching the groom as he beholds his bride for the first time. Chris greeted the bridesmaids and groomsmen with a broad smile, but when he saw Leah, the enormity of what was about to occur seemed to impress itself upon him. He took a deep breath and fixed his eyes on the beautiful woman before him. He seemed completely awestruck. As I watched Chris wait for his bride, I couldn’t help but think that there is little as beautiful to witness as the love between a man and a woman. God has designed our relationships as vessels of indescribable joy – a joy uniquely tangible at the celebration of a marriage. No wonder heaven is described as a wedding feast.

The ceremony was beautiful. Before they exchanged vows, Leah & Chris wanted to take a moment to worship with their family and friends. The musicians led us in three songs, the last of which was “Blessed Be Your Name.” One of the lines of this song is “Blessed be your name…when the world’s all as it should be.” At that moment, it did feel that the world was as it should be – that this union was part of God’s glorious design and that great good would come of it.

I thought of this again as I watched my sister stand before the altar with her new husband. I felt I was seeing her in a new light: as a woman who would be the heart of a strong and gifted family. The little girl full of so much energy and life had grown into a beautiful, capable, strong and courageous woman, ready to take on the tremendous responsibility of being a wife and, eventually, mother.

The reception was held in my parents’ backyard. A tent was set up, large enough to accommodate over 200 guests, and we enjoyed a meal of burgers and various scrumptious salads. Kids roamed freely and grown-ups mingled – it was a perfect summer scene. 

The tent (the wall flaps were removed the day of the wedding)

The tent on prep day - place settings and centrepieces yet to be put out

After dinner there were speeches, and then the dance began. Leah & Chris planned to open with their first dance together, but instead their guests surprised them with a flash mob. The dance had been choreographed by a few friends and disseminated to all guests through an instructional video on youtube about a month before the wedding. The surprise worked beautifully – Leah & Chris went from confusion to awe as they watched a few friends break into dance and then gradually be joined by the entire crowd. Leah was so overcome by it all that she burst into tears!

The actual dance was also awesome. Not surprisingly, Leah & Chris have attracted a group of the most talented friends imaginable – various combinations of them played live music for the rest of the evening.

The next day Chris’ mom and brothers and a bunch of friends came back to my parents’ place to help clean up. Many hands made light work – virtually everything was picked up by mid-afternoon. We enjoyed a lunch of wedding leftovers, finished the cleanup, sat around on the deck and played music, pulled out more leftovers for dinner and then played more music around a bonfire. Sunday was similar – after Mass a bunch of people came over for leftovers and we spent the day eating, swimming, and revisiting the events of the past week. We all wished it didn’t have to end!

Cleanup day

Lunch on the deck with the cleanup crew!

I haven’t seen Leah & Chris since Sunday (Brendan and I are now in New Brunswick), but I’m sure they’re enjoying their first experience of married life. During his toast to them, my dad said he couldn’t wait to see what adventures await them. If their wedding day is an indication of things to come, they will certainly share a rich and beautiful life together.