Special Delivery

Unlike the average midshipman who gets a care package from his parents every so often with cookies, candy, money, and other goodies, being the unloved middle child that I am (haha), I have never gotten a surprise little yellow package slip in my mailbox. My parents will send something if I specifically ask for it, but I definitely know it's coming. I can't deny the fact that I feel just a teeny bit jealous when my roommate gets a huge box from her parents in Alaska with heart-shaped brownies all individually wrapped. My parents do love me, they're just not very spontaneous.
This was all true until yesterday when I went to the mail room to pick up a package from home that I knew I was receiving. When I opened it up, I found everything I had asked for, but much to my delight, I found something else too! It was a CD with the slideshow that my oldest sister Sarah had made for my sister Leah's rehearsal dinner before her wedding this summer. I immediately popped the CD in my computer, and as the pictures started scrolling by with the Jackson 5, Bruce Springsteen, and a catchy version of "Going to the Chapel" by Bette Middler playing in the background, my mind was instantly flooded with memories from that hectic time this summer. The fond memories far outweigh the bad ones, but there were definitely plenty of both. Getting to see over 160 close friends and family members was awesome, as was meeting and hanging out with a bunch of new, fun people, even if they do go to West Point. I'll never forget that last night after the wedding when we all sat on the beach for hours with no light except for the little flame from the citronella candle! Oh, to be back there again!
But then I also think back to those not so fun times. Like when I got in trouble for being contrary about making table arrangements even though my mom was more focused on the wedding gifts my sister was opening than who was going to sit at table 8. Or when I was the only bridesmaid who couldn't go to the bachelorette party because I wasn't 21. Or when the country club where the reception was held did not have the air conditioning capacity to accommodate 160 people on a hot June day in South Florida. But alas, all of these unpleasant moments make for good stories in the end, and I can't really complain when the main reason for us all getting together was accomplished. Leah became Leah Roberts that day and gave us all the brother we never had!