Wedding blues?

In six days, I will officially be a sister-in-law.

Scary.

It's like this: I only have one sibling, my kid brother Jim. And we've been best friends for a long, long time. But as of Saturday, his best friend will be his wife, Tyler. As it should be.

I'm psyched that Tyler (and her sweet doggie, Shelby!) very soon will officially become members of my family. But it's weird to think of my kid brother as an adult, let alone as someone's husband.

It's even weirder to think of myself as a sister-in-law. At least Tyler knows that Jim's family, including his strange sister, are a package deal.

When Jim told me he was thinking of asking Tyler to marry him after many years of dating, my response to him was, "She'll do." Tyler's great, don't get me wrong. I trust Jim's judgment, and if he says Tyler's the one for him, I believe him. And as far I can tell, I couldn't be getting a better sister-in-law. But that's my kid brother she's marrying, and it's hard to think of any woman as worthy of him. I'll always be his overprotective big sister.

Speaking of big, my bridesmaid's dress is stressing me out a bit. It fits as well as it can, but I still think I'm gonna look like a baked potato in it. Good thing all eyes will be on Tyler and not on me!

Tyler (God love her) chose a style and color that's not only as flattering as possible to all the body types in her bridal party, but also comes in sizes 2 to 30. She also isn't being picky about what kind of shoes or jewelry we wear. (See what I mean? Tyler's so cool like that.) The problems I'm having with the dress rest with the manufacturer of the dress as well as the person making the alterations to it. I'm really hoping it all works out by Saturday.

I can't imagine the stress this production has caused my kid brother and his fiancée -- dealing with all the planning and expense has to be exhausting. I'm stressed out just dealing with my bit part in the big event. But I know it'll be great and we'll all have a fantastic time. I'm excited not only to welcome two new Toroks to the fold, but also to spend some quality time with our family and friends from Cleveland and elsewhere. I'd rather we get together for a happy occasion like this instead of funerals, which has been the case too often in recent years.

In fact, I think if I'm going to get teary-eyed during the ceremony, it'll be when we pause to remember my grandparents. I really thought they'd all still be around to at least see one of us (me or Jim) get married. I know they'll be there in spirit, though. They wouldn't miss it for anything!

One thing I'm not looking forward to is questions about why I'm not married. Of all the cousins in our age bracket, I'm the oldest and the only one who's still single. Lately I've been having strange dreams about the ghosts of boyfriends past, and I'm sure Jim's pending nuptials are the reason. But I don't regret it just being me and my cats today. If I never get married, it'll be OK with me. If I do get married someday, I intend to get it right the first time.

I'm trying my best to make sure everything goes right for Jim and Tyler, and that I've done and thought of everything I'm supposed to beforehand. The gifts are wrapped, the hotel reservations are made, I've got a good camera in my possession to take photos of the big day, my hair and makeup is good to go, and the kitties will be cared for while I'm out of town. But, I keep thinking of little last-minute tasks to finish (like coming up with a toast to the couple) and I'm turning into a stress puppy as a result.

Even though all this wedding stuff is kinda bringing me down right now (especially the part about the dress being ready in time), I'm sure my mood will improve as it gets closer to go time and all the preparations pay off.

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