back for a wedding. . .
I can vividly remember the first time I realized Susan and I would be friends – we were in medical school and had figured out we lived on the same street. . .we drove in a southern snow storm to praise and worship at Davidson and then ended up talking way too late into the night. David and I had been married for 2 months, and Susan was really the first friend who knows us as David and Ari the whole way through our marriage.
Since then, we have survived exams and match days and monsoons in Taiwan and overnight drives to Charleston. She was my upper level resident my first night on call as a doctor. She modeled on our front porch with my friend Brenna when David was starting out in photography. She met both Madeline and Annabelle in the hospital. She was our first visitor in Kenya. There are few people who have seen me at my lows and my highs and all the in between, but Susan has. We have fought for our friendship through countless moves and countless homes.
All four of us flew home to be at the wedding, because Susan is not just a friend, she’s family. And I loved that every moment – including meeting Nate over sushi and running out on a date while Susan took the girls to their birthday lunch, felt normal – like this was exactly where we were supposed to be.
We caught up with friends from medical school and residency, and watched with inexplicable emotion as the day unfolded. Editing the pictures, I got teary when I saw how Nate looked at her and how she relaxed in that gaze. We may be biased, but I don’t know if we have ever had a bride filled with more joy.
These pictures are glimpses of that day, of that depth, of that belonging – of the girls with Susan, and us in a place a bit different from our normal in Kenya. We have this life that spans oceans and decades. . . and this part is as real and vital as today was at the hospital . . .connection, deep friendship, and the ability to deeply rejoice in something very, very good.
my favorite picture from the day – during the ceremony 🙂
