Take Time to Smell the Roses, or “Mama Soul’s Guide to Being a Wedding Reception Guest”

You know, with all of this push to be “recession proof”, it’s also important to acknowledge the blessings that are in our life. To focus only on our goals makes us one-dimensional, and it shows up in our art.

While I’m writing this post on Thursday, Nov 13th, by the time you read this post, it will be officially published for Sunday, Nov 9th. While this is probably not recommended blog practice, this is still my blog, and I can backdate if I want to 😉 While I’m blogging in real-time about being “recession proof”, I’m also thinking about the musician who will find this article one day in the future. And this is the day that this story happens to fit into my master scheme. Mwahahaha!

Ahem…The main point I’m making is that I’ve been offline now for about three days, not even one twitter! And while I admit that I suffered internet withdrawal at first, I also had some fantastic days off.

My boyfriend’s niece had a joyous Italian wedding in upstate New York, filled with Frank Sinatra music, delicious food, and lots of laughter. I have known the bride and groom already for three years, and there’s nothing like going to a happy wedding where everyone knows everyone else. I walked into the reception with my flat dancing shoes ON. When the DJ started spinning tunes at the reception, cousins I met at a previous wedding came looking for me, and we danced, danced, DANCED the night away.

And I didn’t think about Twitter once.

I wondered later what made the wedding so joyous, and thought about the special role of being a wedding guest, which I’ll add here:

Mama Soul’s Guide to Being a Wedding Reception Guest
by Carla Lynne Hall

1. Drink the champagne toasts for the Bride and the Groom

2. Eat at least a sliver of the wedding cake

3. Dance to at least one song

In my humble opinion, the role of the wedding guest is to provide good energy for the newly married couple. Whoever’s paying for the shindig is shelling out a lot of money per person, which leads to my last thought,

4. If you’re not going to be a good guest and celebrate the newly married couple, stay home!

Mary Martini (Cutest Lady!!) & Me

Ok, rant over. My main point is that my three days off in Upstate NY, with its beautiful fall foliage, a joyous family wedding, a mental break – all of it – has been really good for me.

Since we’ll be talking about money this week, it’s good to remember that wealth takes many forms: health, friends, family, good food, happy disposition, love, in addition to just the financials.

Remember how rich you truly are.