In-Laws. Geez.

My sister Christina has been moving. This would make sense to you if you knew that she got married and was moving in with her husband. But you don't know all that because that was during blog hiatus. Let me update you. *deep breath*

ChristinagotmarriedinChinatoherclownboyfriendina
clownweddingduringaclownfestivalinaballoondress.

*whew*

Oh heck, I like ya. I'll tell you the whole story.

When we were growing up, there was one photo of Mom and Dad's wedding, and she was wearing black. "No, navy blue, Kathryn, I didn't wear black to my wedding." Yes, Mom. Sorry. And Mom was wearing a navy blue dress.

The happy couple was surrounded by the Papua New Guinea villagers who attended their wedding. There were fruits and decorations, making it quite the make-shift festival considering they had less than a couple of hours to prepare. My parents were never ones for a long engagement. Everyone was there, from old to young. All were happy. "You forgot that I think a baby got dropped during the wedding ceremony, and I didn't even hear it." Yes, Mom. A baby got dropped. What a joyous occasion it was.

After the wedding they telegraphed their parents telling them of the wonderful news that they had found someone and married them while off in the Peace Corp half a globe away in 1970. The families were ecstatic.

"I don't think Daddy put that much in there, Kathryn. You had to pay by the letter in telegrams." No no, you're right. The telegram was much shorter.

So that's true love. It's Grandpa yelling at Grams how he's "gonna kill him! just gonna kill him!" at the news of his new son-in-law. This tradition that must be kept alive.

This October, my sister performed in a clown festival in China with her fiance Seth. There were jugglers and stiltwalkers and unicyclers and balloon artists. And did I mention the clowns? There were American clowns, Chinese clowns, Scottish clowns, heck all sorts of clowns.

Christina has made it a habit of traveling the world and making people laugh. When she does this we all wait patiently for her to come home so that we can see pictures of performances and listen to first-hand experiences of marvelous food. What we do not do is stare at our phones hoping for a call. So when my phone rang with Christina's voice on the other end, I knew something was up, and I figured it had something to do with her appendix.

"Check your email." Christina said.
"What?"
"Check your email."
"Like right now? I could check it later and email you back 'cause Pedro's off at the moment and I'd need to boot him up."
"Check it now."

We waited for Pedro to start which is an awkward moment when you're on a long-distance call from China. I opened my email and there were these pictures:











I stared a few seconds, letting my brain compute. There were clowns, no big deal. Christina and Seth were not in clown makeup, again not a surprise. Christina was wearing a dress. This was unusual. A white dress. This was newsworthy. I had questions, but they must be asked in order of importance since time was short.

"What is that dress made out of?"
"Balloons."
"Does Mom know?"
"She will when she checks her email."

Ah, the romance continues. I must admit I'm kind of bummed. I've always wanted a telegram.

FAQ

• No, they are not in Paris. That's an Eiffel Tower replica.


• Yes, Christina really is a clown. Yes, Seth is, too.


• Yes, Dad has met Seth. They were both on the canoeing trip.


• No, Mom has not met him. She does know him rather well after all his phone calls since Christina's emergency appendectomy in Italy. Mom will meet him during the holidays since she's taking a trip up here.


• No, he has not met the Texas family yet. Yes, I think Seth loves her enough that he will survive at least one trip down there.


• Yes, his parents like Christina. They live in Rome. I agree, that's far more fabulous than Texas.


• Christina and Seth's ceremony was in English. Mom and Dad's ceremony was in Pidgin English, a mix of English, German, and local languages that was created so there would be a universal language in a country where each village has its own dialect. Mom and Dad didn't understand diddly. I'm not entirely certain my parents are legally married.


• Christina and Seth met in Afghanistan. No, I don't make this stuff up.