Love is in bloom

There are certain constants in my world that make my little gypsy heart happy. While I like things that change and progress, I love things that make me feel solid and stable in the world. I like knowing I have the same place to go to at night, that my cats will eventually come back to sleep curled up against my back, and I have certain girlfriends that I can say nasty things to about other people and they will never think poorly of me for it. You know the normal stuff a girl likes.

There are other things too. This weekend while taking a nice long drive across Texas I could not help but to smile as I saw little shots of pink in the still dull landscape. The red buds have begun to bloom, and thus winter is over. In my world those trees blooming means there will be no more freezes and I don't know if it is a Texas thing, or a southern thing, or just a thing my grandmother always said. It is a thing. I don't need some shadowphobic vermin to tell me when my winter ends, I just need those pretty pink blossoms to start to appear.

I was also reminded this weekend of another constants that makes my heart happy. It is the constant of the grooms face. When a couple is getting married, if you take that moment when the bride comes down the aisle to look at the grooms face, that is where you can really tell that they are in love. It never fails that you will see love, joy, surprise, or happy tears in their eyes. She may be beautiful, but that look is the most amazing thing in the world.

My little sister got married this past weekend, and I was not disappointed in her grooms face at all. The doors opened, and she stepped out in her breathtaking lace couture dress, and everyone started ohhing and ahhing over her. My eyes were fixed firmly on the grooms face.

In the years I have known him he has never been a truly expressive person. In this moment that did not change. His face did not light up, there was no uncharacteristically big grin, or anything like that. Instead, as his eyes fell upon his blushing bride walking towards him, he took her in slowly with his lips pressed firmly together. After only a moment his eyes lowered and he nodded his head once. When he looked up again I could see that he had begun to cry.

In that moment, that briefest of moments, I knew that my sister was marrying a man who loved her very much. In that moment my heart was so happy for him.

While I can't say for certain that red buds blooming will truly be a sure sign winter is over, the saying has never failed me in the past so I am confident that it is a true constant. I am also confident in my other constants, and see so much love ahead for my sister and her loving new husband.