How at-risk baby Koi figure in moments of declared love…

Kid three was married yesterday. Today, if you¹re reading this on Saturday.

It’s a miracle, really, when two people declare their love for each other. It’s a miracle because, first of all, they found each other after they travelled and worked the country separately and the moved back home. Stress the ‘back home’ part. It’s a miracle, too, because when two people are preparing to blend their lives, the world becomes a sunny, pleasant, generous place.

In the whirlwind of selecting satin and finding fedoras has been overwhelming generosity from friends, parents’ friends, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, relatives, employers–the list seems endless–who want to gift these two as they head into their new life together.

Perhaps one of the best vignettes from this pageant has been also the simplest.

“Could you decorate the hall?” asked Kid three, her list of duties in hand.
” Yes,” I responded, eager to help.
” We want to keep it simple. Meaningful. Elegant.”

Those who know me well know that decorating a hall would fall relatively low on my list of talents, but what the heck? I felt I could rise to the occasion.

Simple. Elegant. Meaningful.

Well, simple cloths over simple tables. How about river rocks and pine cones clustered in the centre of the table, surrounded by glass cups holding tea lights? How about large round bowls alive with orange fish? Representing life. River rocks in the bowls with daisies floating on the
surface.

How about rows of mini lights at the half way mark along every section of this beautiful hexagon hall?

This is where the magic begins.

I mentioned my idea to my friend, the talented Patti Stevenson. Now Patti is a wizard with silk flowers, plants and trees. She installed a tree in our living room that is so realistic the family keeps watering it! Her Expressions in Bloom is one explosive creative energy.

Patti approved of the fish. In fact, she directed me to Ann Seaman O’Donal, whose home in Allandale is a garden wonderland of fountains, walkways and ponds. “Call Ann,” said Patti. “She has hundreds of baby Koi fish and she’s looking for homes. They’re babies and they won’t survive the winter.”

Now here’s the magic. Kid three nearly wept when I told her about the Koi. “They]re a remarkable fish, known for their perserverence, their energy, their commitment to an idea,” she said. Japanese Koi fish grow to a foot in length after a few years, and survive against extreme odds.

So, two days before the wedding, 80 baby Koi found themselves in beautiful bowls, waiting to grace the tables of a wedding.

Now, if you’re giving away bowls of Koi fish, you need to give away Koi fish food, too. Up I go to Doogan’s Pet Food store in the Kozlov Centre and the kindly Gem helps me to the right size of Koi pellets.

Curious about my purchase, she asked and I told. But I also mentioned Ann Seaman O’Donal’s 500 baby Koi fish and the dilemma of approaching winter.

“I can take them, said Gem. I have lots of tanks and a heated garage.”

Circles. One happy event leads to another. I love it.

I thought you might, too.

Thanks, Ann.
Thanks, Patti.
Thanks, Gem.

And Bryn and Adam?… I wish you enough. Most of the time.