Being single at a Wedding

When I was younger, I would treat the occasional family get together or affair as an exiting adventure. My brother (and later my sister and younger brother) would always be at my side and I had several cousins who were my age and many of my Mother's cousins were not much older than we. As I got older, cousins and sibling began getting married leaving me and a handful of cousins (most of whom don't show up at family events on a regular basis) as the only holdouts not branching out on the family tree. Of course, this means that at these functions, we are the only ones showing up "stag".

Since most members of my family have few, if any, single friends my age, I don't get the opportunity to meet interesting new single guys at these parties. Often, I find myself dancing with female cousins, a few of whom are still single, baby nieces or the "friend of the family" whose wife couldn't make it. A number of years ago I was at a Bat Mitzvah (the daughter of a first cousin) where I found myself dancing first with my first cousin and her cousins and then with a neighbor of hers who was there without his wife. Neither of these were very stimulating experiences, to say the least. The cousin group kept accidentally/on purpose pushing me out of the circle of dancers and the neighbor sans wife kept telling me he couldn't dance.

I had intended to bring earplugs with me knowing that bands at these sorts of celebrations tend to be on the over exuberant side. Keep in mind, if you have any intention of leaving with you hearing intact, pack earplugs! Wedding/Party bands are like five-year-old children -- when it comes to music they both think louder is better (and they're both wrong). That is true whether a six-piece brass band or a deejay supplies the music. If you want to avoid this massive volume for your own affair, it is best to book a string quartet. After all, how loud can a violin play?

One of the more interesting aspects of Bar/Bat Mitvahs is the "loot". Most every Bar/Bat Mitzvah gala I have attended has giveaways. They are often only for the kids, but sometimes even adults can leave with a haul. I still have a felt marker sketch of me done at my Cousin Jessica's Bat Mitzvah several years ago. And that Bat Mitzvah I just told you all about? I came home with 4 luminescent "halos", 5 "Jamee's Independence Day" T-shirts, 4 fake NY license plates and a toy tambourine. This was in addition to the pink rose I plucked from the lobby flower arrangement on my way out the door. And that doesn't count what my mother and sister got a hold of. The glow of the "halos" helped me into the house and up the stairs to my room in a state of exhaustion at about 1 in the morning.

The central attention point of any soiree of this nature is always the food. Arrival during cocktail hour always promises a variety of comestibles that guarantees to tickle even the most blasé taste buds. One cousin's wedding had a variety of international delights including Israeli food and Tex-Mex selections. After sampling some of the Israeli fare, I parked myself by the Tex-Mex table and stuffed myself on veggie tacos and enchiladas. Since Mexican is my favorite ethnic food, I was in wedding guest heaven.

Since vegetarianism is growing in popularity (and my vegan eating habits are more and more known among my family members and friends), I often find grilled vegetables, usually eggplant, peppers, various squashes, etc., among the myriad tables of fine delicacies. I have also found Israeli food common, my favorite being humus, which happens to go well with those little carrots that have become so popular these days.

As a vegetarian, I find that I usually have to fill up on the smorgasbord because the meal rarely includes much that I can eat. But often I am pleasantly surprised, as in the two episodes mentioned above since they were both catered by my cousin, who happens to know my eating habits (it's great to have a relative in the catering biz). At the wedding, I feasted on a wonderful rice and orzo pilaf and a medley of sautéed julienne vegetables. At the Bat Mitzvah, I was presented with a marvelous salad (I am not a big salad lover, so if I say it was marvelous, it was) and, for the main dish, side vegetables topped off with an eggplant roll stuffed with spinach.

Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed myself at the above events and generally welcome family gatherings. Most of my relatives are very interesting people -- we have a couple of published authors and at least one radio personality. But even if your family isn't as fascinating as mine, I am sure you can find a few people who have an interesting way about them. But, just in case, bring along an absorbing book or magazine.

Check out my other squidoo lenses:
Jewish Wedding Customs
Strong Biblical Women
Strong Biblical Women 2
Strong Biblical Women Part 3
Ruth and Naomi
Strong Biblical Women 5: Tamar -- Mother of Kings
Strong Biblical Women 6: Yocheved -- Mother of Moshe (Moses)
Strong Biblical Women 7: Miriam
Why Be Vegetarian
Vegetarianism: Getting Started 1
Vegetarianism: Getting Started 2
Rosh Hashana
Quick Vegan Cooking
Creating new recipes from old
Hanuka
About the Jewish Calendar
Witches and Morality
Presidential Trivia Quiz
Christmas and the Jewish Single
Math Hints 1 -- Adding Fractions
Presidents1: George Washington
Passover: Holiday of Freedom
John and John Quincy Adams
Television Trivia Quiz
Jewish Perspective of G-d
Purim, Esther et al
Being an internet small business owner
Why I'm a Red Sox fan
Pythagorean Theorem
My Blogs
Top 10 Presidents
Bottom 10 Presidents
How Can We Appeal to G-d for Forgiveness?
Math Tips 2
Searching for a Fashion Partner
Math Hints 3
One Actor, Two Shows (TV Quiz)
Presidential Tidbits
Why Should anyone hire Me?
Eat a Healthy Breakfast
My experience on Jeopardy
Project:Runway and how it got me excited about designing again
Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb?
My Vocational Experiences
Check out my Stress Release Mix list

Check out my blogs:

Israel and it's Place in the World
Jewish Singles
Strong Jewish Women
Everything Goes

In addition to our Cafe Press and Zazzle sites (see modules above), we also have a store on "Printfection" which includes cutting boards (good wedding, thank you for your wedding attendants or housewarming gifts), mugs and cups, tees, etc. These products can be personalized with the wedding date and the names of the bride and groom (and the name of the person who the gift is meant for). For personalization, e-mail us at sales@compugraphdesigns.com

This Women's Tee is only one of several Jewish Wedding themed items at our store:

Compugraphd Printfection site

(Click on the picture to go directly to this product's page)

I just discovered Printpop -- check out my entire portfolio or click on the graphic to see just this product (called "Dodi Li"). Check back periodically as new designs are uploaded.

"Arts Now" is another "Print on Demand" site. They have a nice collection of products, including the one pictured here (with the cosmos design on it). Click on the picture to see the entire site.