Beer Weekend and Wedding Planning

The past weekend was the most beer I've consumed since coming back. Friday was Elysian's pumpkin beer festival, and we attended with Jamie (Mitch's sousaphone friend) and his lady friend Jessica. Jessica is a lovely Burlesque dancer, extremely open to new people and seems really genuine about wanting to be friends. Mitch's brass band D20 will be playing at a Burlesque show in a few days, and I think she'll be there too.

The next night, I spent time at the Elysian Brewery in Capitol Hill with my favorite gay couple in Seattle, Danny and Brian. They are some of the most professionally-minded and homey individuals I know, so I was really glad to hear their support about what I'm doing now. It's the kind of support that also helps to keep me mentally grounded in my goals.

Small successes: this morning I got around to booking a date for my GRE exam, November 17th, and an appointment for my annual physical, October 14.

And some great news, my mom and I have finally bridged the communication barrier regarding my wedding. Long story short, since I haven't mentioned it yet -- my mother really wants me to have a Catholic ceremony. But complications exist since a) I'm an atheist, b) Mitch is an atheist, and c) while I would really love to make my mom happy by getting married in a Catholic church, the promises that Mitch and I would have to make are not desirable. We would have to promise to raise our children Catholic, and that's not something we are prepared to do.

To seek external support, I emailed my mother's best friend Tita Mila -- who is a very liberal-minded Catholic -- and her response was extremely positive.

"I truly and honestly believe that you should have the kind of wedding you and Mitch want! You must not waver in your desire to make it happen. Incorporating the unique practices and traditions from both religions and cultures is a wonderful idea. Besides, aren't Catholics and Lutherans more alike than different? Do you really think your parents will have a problem with a non-religious ceremony? I am confident that they will respect your wishes -- I know because I remember the time when your mom shared with me her concerns, and outright disapproval of Aries and Karen's relationship. She came around, didn't she? Ultimately, we, parents realize (albeit slowly...because we are old) that we need to let go, and let our children live their lives. Our job is done!

 I believe this moral support, which I later forwarded to my mother, really helped in getting my mom on board, at least to some extent. While she still sees herself as a failure -- and I quote,

"The bigger reality that makes me sad is that I am a failure as a Mother for not being able to share/impart my belief that there is a God, (indeed not a Catholic God), but just God... One reason I did not mention right away when I had a pain in my skull is because the first thing I was going to ask from you was to pray that I will get better but I thought, how will I ask you since you already told me you don't believe there is a God..."

-- she has, for the most part, come around, has promised to attend my wedding, and is now giving me all sorts of advice, realizing that I only have eight months to plan this wedding. My heart is happy, although tired.

I'm still trying to figure out how to properly respond to her concerns in that text message above. In any case, I'm so glad that she is now doing well health-wise and that the pain has gone away.