Nancy, Oh Nancy, The Day to My Night...

About a month before my sister Nancy's wedding my maid of honor sister, Bridget, e-mails the rest of us saying that she wants to put together a poem about Nancy and Josh for their wedding day. Exciting! But after being warmed that it had to be nice and lovey dovey and that it couldn't say anything bad about Nancy, I lost interest. Frustrated by her lack of poetic ability, Bridget decided she would be better off with a good ol' speech. In the end we we sacked the poem idea, but here's a little preview of what could have been:

So my sister’s here, they want me to rhyme

With something cute and corny on every single line.

"Talk about romance and love and their life,

Make sure that it’s neutral and happy and nice.
It you want to please Nancy, you’d heed my advice!”

Well lest they forget I’m sister number three,
That comes after two and between B + C.

In order to get the attention we crave
Us, middle children types, we must misbehave.

The middle child role is not always fair,
And what’s worse than that is having to share.

I’ve shared with Nancy for my entire life.
Sharing is caring, but with us it was strife!

Nancy and I had very different approaches
Despite having the same parents, teachers and coaches.

Nancy, oh Nancy, the day to my night...
I was always wrong and she was always right.

She’d plan out everything far in advance
While I’d miss deadlines and poop in my pants.

We’d argue over things, when we were pre-teens,
Over phones, TV shows, and who gets Colleen.

But when Nancy met Josh, I really hoped they’d be right
Because when Josh was around, her and I wouldn’t fight.

…(as much)

And alas, we have become two grown up adults
No longer pulling hair or exchanging cheap insults.

And despite all our differences ..........

(insert cheesey line about us being similar at heart)

Today I will hold my tongue and bury the knife
Because my greatest opponent has married the love of her life!

Other stanzas included:

When Nancy and Josh tried dating long distance

Josh would sometimes come up north for Christmas

And for the week before our ears would be drumming

with "Aren't you guys so excited that Josh-y is coming!"

Christmas in Florida was a memorable one...

For 'Leen, mom and Josh it wasn't too fun.

After mom and Colleen retreated to the can,

Josh blamed the dark meat and took it like a man....

A man who stays up all night long getting sick

and drives 3 hrs home the next morn... because no on drives stick.

Well that's that kind of gusto it takes to impress my sister

she's the toughest of the bunch, just check out her crew blister.

Well, like I said, the poem idea never made it to the final show, but Bridget was able to put together a nice little ditty of a monologue, and aside from the near panic attack prior to showtime, the speech went rather smoothly. She even got a few laughs. The actual speech went a little something like this:

"Hello family and friends

As the oldest of the Erickson girls, I can say that I have known my sisters since the day they were born. So for Nancy, it has been 29 years and counting. We were both Alaskan born babies and shared a room together up until high school. I was her translator when she was a toddler and mom and dad had no idea what she was saying in her baby language but somehow I did. We learned to ride bikes the same day (I guess I was a slow learner). We grew up together as friends one minute and enemies the next as normal sisterly confrontations arose over the favorite toy, shirt, or Tv show. Nancy and I went to different colleges but then lived together for 4 years after college. It was at some point in college that Nancy met her rowing soul mate Joshua and fell in love. Everything was perfect until Josh moved back to Florida for grad school. Then came the long distance dating, the hour long phone calls, and the trips down to Florida one a month. I saw how tough this was on Nance, not to mention her wallet. So eventually Nancy left exotic and seasonal Cliffwood, NJ for the yearlong sweltering humidity of Florida and more importantly to be closer to her Joshy. Nancy and I had never lived this far apart so I was pretty bummed to lose a roommate and best friend but I knew she would be happier living much closer to Josh. I also knew I would no longer have to hear, "Isn't Josh cute? Don't you miss Josh? And don't you just love Josh?" all the time. Even though we live a thousand miles away, I talk to Nancy pretty much every day. And I am so happy that she has found someone like Josh to marry.

It seems like Josh has always been part of the family. So much so that I can't even recall the first time I met him. Perhaps because it was at a Rutgers crew party with lots of beer pong. He is a great friend and I have even gone to him for guy advice. Although Nancy is not proud of this, he can burp as well as Julie and Colleen. He has even handled Aunt Barbara's "interviews" with poise and confidence. But most importantly, he loves my little sister and wants her to be happy. How many guys do you know that would convert to being a Mets fan?

Nancy and Josh, you guys are two of my favorite people in the world and I love being around you. It makes me truly happy that you will be sharing your futures together. Please raise your glasses and join me in congratulating the new bride and groom.

May your troubles be less and your blessings me more

And nothing but happiness come through your door.

Congrats to the happy couple!!!"