NYC weddings and a trip to NJ

I am currently grieving. In my Child Life class "Loss in children's lives" there is a class on the types of loss people experience and the ways people grieve and they are all valid. Well i just spent the past three days with E and N (the kids i previously worked for) at their new house in New Jersey and once again i have no idea when i'll see them again...oh wait you guys don't know the recent news. They moved to New Jersey a few weeks ago, kinda suddenly because their apartment was too small. Right, so now that you're caught up i'll continue. It's been two and half weeks since i last saw them and when they are that little a lot can change. E is 2.5 and N is about 8 months, lots of growing and lots of forgetting. Anyways, i'm grieving, the three of us hung out so much this weekend because their aunt was getting married and their parents were super busy with wedding prep, and now i'm back to nada, just a bunch of stories and memories. There are lots of stories and i'm not even sure where to begin. Here's an attempt and a bit of story separation.

For those who'd rather read about a classic NY wedding:
This to me was quite the wedding. Bridal party and photos taken at the Palace hotel (ie: where Serena lives on G.G. for those in the know, xoxo) and the service, cocktail hour and reception at the Harmonie Club (they consumed 3 floors of a 7 story building)...all black tie. Oh and did i mention it was three days, yeah big rehearsal dinner, and post wedding brunch. All was fabulous though, beautifully decorated, beautiful flowers, beautiful chuppa, supposedly good food...there was no skimping. Oh and of course the wedding was written up in the New York Times which while i'm told is not AS exclusive i'm told is still exclusive enough i've heard of others being denied.My role as the nanny was to the wrangle the two kids. E. being the flower girl and N being nothing but a cute baby dressed in a suit...seriously cute!! lots of awwwwwing when they came down the aisle. Moral of the story, if this wedding was under 100,000 i would be shocked!

For those who'd rather read about the kids and NJ
I need to first explain that E. and N. are rarely affectionate. No snuggling, cuddling, kisses, hugs nothing (this is the opposite of their parents). It took me months before either of them decided i was special enough to get anything remotely affectionate ie: a head resting on the shoulder during a story, or allowing you to hold/rock them to sleep. I have decided that it's an age thing, but also that they only share when they really really mean it. I'm down with that, it means more and usually makes me cry when it occurs because it is rare and genuine. The other day, we are mid conversation about things we like and it goes like this, E says,"I like my bed, i like my toys, i like to play, i like shannon, i like milk, i like baby beluga"...um reverse she likes me and i'm up there with playing, milk and baby beluga...this is a big freakin' deal!! Also, I'm changing E's diaper and she's having an exhausted meltdown when she says, "Shannon....I love you". I had tears in my eyes as i respond with, I love you too E. K, enough of that because when N. decided to rest his head on me while i was holding him the other day and not pinch or try to back flip out of my arms i was in heaven...i was going to be so sad to not see them again.

And finally for those who'd like to read about both
E. was the flower girl and N. was the cute boy who got a ride down the aisle with their mom and dad. Well E. loved being the flower girl, she talked about it for hours before and after the wedding, i'm sure she is still going on about it. Her role was to put handfuls of flower petals all the way down. Well a two year old could care less, two handfuls later she's at the end of the aisle and dumps the whole basket on the floor. No biggie, but when she was supposed to stand at the front she decided to announce loudly, "E. still wants to be a flowergirl. E is not done being a flowergirl", until i dragged her out of the ceremony before the bride had a meltdown over a two year old wrecking her wedding. After we left she wouldn't stop talking about how pretty she looked and how she did such a good job with the flowers (true she was so pretty and she did do a good job...it's just kills me to hear a two year old brag about it).

Right so that's it...NJ although very close to the city is so very far. It's a bit of a fantasy land, right out of a magazine...or at least where these guys live. They have a lawn, and animals running around (ie: rabbits, chipmunks, and foxes). It's a different world where darkness and silence exist, where stars are visible in the sky, birds chirp when the sunrises and kids play on the street together. It also has E and N and no matter how exhausted they make me, i love seeing them.