We are family

Of the many definitions for family, we prefer the one requiring just four letters: l-o-v-e.

That’s the family with whom we spent this past weekend as we celebrated my sister’s marriage to her longtime love, Keith.

Ahead of her two flower girls, 10 junior bridesmaids preceded my sister down the aisle at her beautiful sunset-on-the-beach wedding. Nearly half of the attendees played a role in the ceremony, which drew relatives and friends from all over the country.

Keith, a retired high school administrator, broadly defines the term family and chose the regal Grandma Thelma to escort him down the aisle. Kathy walked down the aisle with my mother and our brother on each side.

Two lives became one during the elegant ceremony, and then two families became one on the rocking dance floor.

A giant conga line snaked around the dance floor and drew family members from all corners of the room. We formed a Soul Train line down the center of the floor and danced for hours. My mom and her sister Doris stepped outside their comfort zone and got funky with Keith’s son, Keith. Molly and I learned to dance the Wobble Wobble.

Sometime after midnight, we hauled our sweaty selves off the dance floor and called it a night.

We toasted Kathy and Keith Saturday night and the official confirmation of their abiding love, and we’ll continue to salute the newest members of our own broadly defined family with these three letters: j-o-y.