Wedding bells a ringing

Thursday as I’m sitting on a plane en route to St. Pete Beach I find myself slightly tortured by the fact that my movie didn’t download to my phone and there are only 4 songs on my phone. Three of the 4 are country and I have no idea how this happened to me! So as I listen to Zack Brown chicken fried for the 4th time I figure what a great time to start typing my next post.

The reason for my 2nd trip to Florida in 4 weeks is for my baby cousins wedding. She’s not a baby anymore, but I can picture her baby face as I write this post. Katy Dixon is the name and she’s the youngest child to the oldest Dixon of my dads siblings, Spencer Dixon. How about you take a stroll down memory lane with me again…

I recall pinching her cheeks when she was little, “racing” her in the grass field behind their condo when I was 12 and of course letting her win. I can see her 16 year old self “holding” a beer at my college graduation party?. I remember my excitement when she decided to join us buckeyes and go to college at OSU. I remember her graduation like it was yesterday and being proud of little Katy Louise for her accomplishments.

You see, this young lady had been through quite a bit at a young age. In 2000 she and her sisters lost their big brother, Jeff Dixon. He was 35 and the oldest cousin in the Dixon family. He was my brothers best friend and very close to many of us cousins down the line. Katy was barely 18 when Jeff passed away. The following year her father went in for his 2nd open-heart surgery and ended up having a bad stroke. Thankfully he is still with us 18 years later, but it was quite the scare.

It was fall of 2001 and I was driving Katy to Toledo for what we thought was to say goodbye to her father. He was being taken off of a respirator and the outcome was grim. In case you haven’t figured this out yet, us Dixon’s are fighters. We love living life to the best of our ability, so Uncle Spencer wasn’t done living. That ride from Columbus to Toledo will always be historic for Katy and I. Why? Because I did all I could to keep her laughing and the moment light. Therefore, my little freshman in college cousin was lucky enough to hear every crazy-funny story I could offer of myself during my college years. It worked! She laughed the entire drive and we still crack up when referring to that drive. I will not share the stories I told because theres kids reading this, but believe me, they’ll make for great shows when I get to writing the Dixon sitcom?

Wednesday when I texted Katy about my new fun wig for her wedding she told me Uncle Spencer was in the hospital and the doc was telling her that her Dad couldn’t be at the wedding. Well, my cousin Erin (Katy’s oldest sister) told the doctor otherwise? Ironically all three of Uncle Spencer’s daughters are engaged to be married in 2019-20 and those girls deserve for their dad to be present on their big day. I pray his health stays good to share in those days.

Katy’s nuptials will be emotional for many of us. My brother is walking her down the isle because Spencer physically can’t and Jeff is no longer with us. Our family as a whole has had quite a few heartaches the past few years and getting together for a happy celebration is much needed.

I met Katy’s fiancé a year or so ago after they went to the OSU vs Penn State football game…the amazing comeback game the season before last. It was a cold weather game and it looked grim for OSU, therefore Katy wanted to leave the game early. HUGE mistake! They missed watching a game for the record books in person. The story was hilarious told by Brandon, the NON-OSU fan. It was great to meet him and see Katy happy. Even though he was a…wait for it…Michigan fan? What are the odds an OSU grad living in Florida meets and falls in love with a guy from *ichigan. Us Toledo folks are a divided bunch. More than half my family are *ichigan fans and the cool ones are Buckeyes? Katy’s immediate family are all Wolverines which just adds to the irony of Katy & Brandon keeping continuity in the family rivalry. Although he’s a fan of that team up north I think he’s a great match for my cousin. I’m glad I’ve had time with them on my visits to Florida. They put me up when my dad was sick. I’ve watched him offer support to Katy & her sisters with her parents. He helped my Stepmom sell their condo after my dad passed…from what I’ve seen and heard, I think he’s a great addition to the family and am very happy for them both!

Tonight’s the big night! A beautiful wedding on the beach surrounded by your loved ones. It will be magical and a night to remember for years to come. Congratulations Katy & Brandon! I wish you many many years of love and happiness! PS. Take care of my cousin, Brandon or you’ll have some angry buckeyes on your tail ⭕️-H!