The roots and branches of an old oak tree

My daughter Katherine got married this summer under an old oak tree, a logistical, meteorological and dendrological triumph.

I don’t know much about trees, but I do know the one Katherine has had her eye on since she was a child is very, very old. I worried it might not live long enough to preside over the ceremony. Those old oak leaves were a little late to arrive this year, but that tree wore them proudly on wedding day.

I also fretted that swarms of tiny river bugs might crash the party, or that a pelting rain might fall. Those two plagues did book-end the ceremony, but our guests turned out to be troupers and no one seemed to mind.

In one photo of the event, our family stands proudly under the tree, along with our freshly minted son-in-law Ed and our gussied up grand dog Benny.

I love the people you can see in that photo, and the ones you can’t see in it too.

We’re standing on a platform built for the occasion by our friend Tim. I know he watched our giant families take their places on that platform during the post-ceremony photo shoots and prayed that frame would hold. Of course it did. Tim is both a precise man, and a sturdy friend.

Katherine’s friend Katie sprinkled the wild flowers that lined the aisle. Katie flew in from LA, arrived early and helped with every task she could, along with their friends Andy and Ted. Every time I looked up, those three were completing some task I hadn’t even thought to add to the to-do list.

You can’t see Hillary in this picture, but if you close your eyes you can hear her generational voice spreading love and coaxing the kind of tears that roll out just in time to welcome beauty.

Our North Woods neighbors aren’t in the picture, but they’re there too. You can see their handiwork everywhere you look — in the fresh gravel on the road, the new bunkhouse, the trim paths and the bandstand. We have the greatest neighbors in the world up there, and that big, old oak tree knows it too.

With its deep roots and wide branches, that tree is a living metaphor for family and I’m so happy it stood tall as we witnessed the happy expansion of ours.