Mazal Tov to a Handprint on My Heart

"So much of me is made
of what I've learned from you,
you'll be with me
like a handprint on my heart"

I was at the wedding of a very close friend this weekend. It was a beautiful, beautiful wedding. But the truth is, I sorta had been dreading this wedding because I didn't know how I was going to react. I envisioned face streaked with mascara as tears ran down my cheeks. I imagined seeing my friend in a white dress that went poof and bursting into tears. It wasn't going to be pretty.

But instead I had a great time. I danced like a mad woman (and sweat like one too), I smiled like a fool (the pictures I've seen thus far are a testament to that), and I left thoroughly and sincerely happy for my friend.

And I owe all that to the bride. She told me about a week ago that she viewed her role at the wedding as making her guests feel welcome and appreciated and she truly, truly did that. She noticed and complimented little things (like a part of my dress she knew I was self-conscious about), she hugged me extra hard, and all in all let me know how much she appreciated me.

She could totally and justifiably have gotten too caught up in her big day to do those things. But she didn't because her friends are important to her and she intended to show that in any way she could.

So, as she starts her life together with her husband and as they begin together to build a bayit ne'eman b'Yisrael, all I can do is wish them all things good. She's the best of friends and the best of people and she truly has left handprints on my heart -- handprints which I'm sure will grow more numerous with time.

There are a million other things I want to say about this friend, a million other mazal tov wishes I want to bestow upon her, a million thanks I want to give, a million memories, a million shared smiles. But for now this will have to do for the sole reason that those won't all fit on my blog even if I could express them. Mazal tov.