Friday, July 19, 2013

When did Jenny grow up?

My  little sister is getting married. How crazy is that?! I've never even met this guy that she is head over heels, crazy in love with. He's just some stranger that came into her life one day and took her to McDonald's, and now in less than a month he'll be my brother.

For that matter, my little sister is seeming more like a stranger as well. I flipped through her engagement pictures with my mouth pulling tight at the corners, searching. I don't recognize this woman with the big soulful eyes, laughing and holding hands with a tall, smiling man or staring into the camera with something almost like wisdom, a hidden secret behind those lips.


I catch flashes of my baby sister in an awkward hand gesture or a crinkled up nose, but those are the rejected photos. They won't be hung on walls or stuffed into envelopes to be sent to family and friends. They'll be left in their digital form, deleted or forgotten before long. The polished Jen, the grown up Jen. That's the Jen that will make its way across the country in a bright white envelope, nestled softly in a tissue paper bed against an embossed invitation to the coming nuptials.


I don't know the Jen that's polished and poised. That makes her fiancé dinner every night in the house they will soon share. That saves her money instead of blowing it on fast food, Dr. Pepper, and anything with an Anthropologie label. A Jen that is in love and doing very real grown up things. It's a Jen that is complete. Who has stretched herself to meet someone else halfway, to sacrifice and love them with all her heart.

I think I'll like this grown up Jen and the man who makes her so happy, so full.

All photos by the very talented Brooke Stapleton. Many thanks!

2 comments:

  1. Okay I might have like a few tears in my eyes. Jenny I'm so excited for you. I cannot say enough how beautiful you are in these photos. They are perfect in every way. I'm so excited for your love story to continue.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Martha! I love you. Thank you so much! I'm so sad you won't be here for the wedding! Hope you're doing well! Let's talk soon!

    ReplyDelete