I'll never forget the day I met her. It was a cool fall evening and I traveled to Bigelow Hill for the very first time. I had come from my father's house and I got lost because it is pretty easy to miss the turn so Ben came out to fetch me and I followed him all the way up to the little stone house that his mother and father had built by hand. I didn't know much about his Mom then but when he opened the door to his childhood home I saw his Mom nestled behind the counter. She had a big smile on her face and welcomed me into their home. I was new and there was no way to tell how serious our relationship would get but she told me to make myself comfortable and they were happy to have me there.
As the years went along Nancy and I have grown closer and I can confidently say that she and I are friends. Outside of my relationship with her son we have connected on so many levels and over so many things. We are a lot alike in our love of craftiness, being frugal, hard work, and Luce men. Some of my favorite memories are times we hung out with his parents and especially his Mom. Last summer we went to the Air Show in Brunswick. I'd never been but the weather was gorgeous, the planes were awesome, and when Nancy and I went out to see what the vendors were up to we met a "Jeep Keeper" who she tried, valiantly, to convince to let us take one for a ride. He was a trooper in his ability to resist her charms but in the end he let me take her picture sitting on the front bumper (a big no no) and we made the 6 year old behind us begging his mother to touch them pretty unhappy.
She is always prepared, creative, thoughtful, and helpful. She goes out of her way to make the lives of those she loves easier and happy. My first Christmas with the Luces brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. I had never spent a Christmas away from home. Ever. In 26 years of being alive I always woke up at home to have Christmas morning with my family. When Ben and I got serious we decided to alternate Christmas eves and days between our immediate families. I didn't quite know what to expect because everyone's traditions can be so different but when we gathered around the tree I felt like I belonged there. I felt like we were a family. We all passed around presents and laughed and drank coffee and totally forgot the hangovers we were all nursing (adult christmas are a whole new ball game). I never once felt like they just included me because I was Ben's girlfriend. I felt like they included me because they wouldn't have had it any other way. Even the presents they gave me made me feel like family because they were all things that were thoughtful and were clearly meant for me and not just "things that a certain girl of this age should like."
I could go on and on thinking about sliding on the hill and adventures with Dr. McGillicuddy, playing cards, shooting off fireworks, concerts and countless other things we do together that have made so many amazing memories. None are quite as special as making my wedding dress with her though. I can't say enough how this would not have happened without her. I would have been a bride that put on a dress that was beautiful and I would have grown to love but it wouldn't have been the same. Every dollar spent on the dress we made means something in the end. This isn't a route for everyone because the experience of choosing a dress is different for every bride but for me, this was the right choice and that is 100% due to Nancy and her awesomeness.
There have been so many movies made about how terrible Mother-in-Laws can be. The scenarios are all basically the same. Boy meets girl, proposes, and introduces her to his mother and all hell breaks loose. I can't relate to those movies at all. I'm winning the mom-in-law jackpot for sure. I owe so much to Nancy for making my dress, birthing my groom and my Matron of Awesome, and opening her property up to the wedding of my dreams. Ben's Dad certainly had a hand in most all of that and I'm grateful to him too but Nancy is the oil that makes the machine run and without her I know our lives would not be nearly as rich, happy, or full.
<3 The Future Mrs. Luce
30 Days until the wedding
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