The Wedding

So it's been a week since the wedding, and I'm still trying to get my head around it all. I guess the easiest way to report is in bullet points:

* My parents were miserable, didn't really speak to anyone at the reception, left after dinner without telling anyone or saying good-bye, and got out without doing any grandparent pictures with the bride and groom.
* I left the controversy at the door and had fun with my brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, and felt guilty the entire day for having fun when my brother and his family weren't invited.
* I talked to my sister-in-law that night and she said it bothered her more than she expected. She and my niece cried that day, and I found out the next day from my brother that she had cried herself to sleep.
* My brother is beyond hurt and has moved onto anger. He blames the bride but also her mother for not telling her to do the right thing, and that as far as he's concerned she is nothing more than a step-sister, a distant relative.

Needless to say, I spent a lot of time crying since the wedding. And as much as I want to try to fix it, everyone tells me that it's not my problem to fix, that I can't take on that responsibility.

It's hard, because that's not my personality. My whole thing is to take care of other people, to fix things, to make sure that all is right in the world.

Unfortunately, I think this might beyond my talent for fixing. Maybe time will heal the wounds, but I doubt it. The wounds are running too deep.

PS....last call for entries in my pay-it-forward and send fabulous gifts. So if you want in, comment on a story and let me know. I'll pull a name at the end of the week and get fun Finger Lakes presents in the mail next weekend.