Lauri and Mike get married!, a set on Flickr.
On June 9th, 2012, the bridal party and friends all went to whirly ball (that’s a thing! see photos) and had a Luau to celebrate Lauri and Mike’s upcoming wedding (it was a Bachelor/ Bachelorette party).
Then on June 15th, my big sister got married! I didn’t get a chance to say anything at the reception but if I did, I would have said this:
“I have a short poem that has followed me since I first read it in high school that I’d like to share with you all. It applies to so many of you in my life here today. But as I sat watching Lauri and Mike interact on Saturday, for the first time away from our parents, I realized that there was nothing better I could dedicate to them than this poem.
It’s called “To A Friend” by Roy Croft (or Erich Fried)
I love you, Not only for what you are, But for what I am When I am with you.
I love you, Not only for what You have made of yourself, But for what You are making of me.
I love you For the part of me That you bring out; I love you For putting your hand Into my heaped-up heart And passing over All the foolish, weak things That you can’t help Dimly seeing there, And for drawing out Into the light All the beautiful belongings That no one else had looked Quite far enough to find.
I love you because you Are helping me to make Of the lumber of my life Not a tavern But a temple; Out of the works Of my every day Not a reproach But a song.
I love you Because you have done More than any creed Could have done To make me good And more than any fate Could have done To make me happy.
You have done it Without a touch, Without a word, Without a sign.
You have done it By being yourself.
Perhaps that is what Being a friend means, After all.
Lauri, you have always been this friend to me and you always will be. Now you and Mike are beginning to build your own temple together. Watching you two, it’s obvious that you have found the one that loves you and makes you complete, without having to do a thing.”
Ally Krupar 