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Blind teacher Kate Chamberlin photographed by Kevin Rivoli for \u201cBlind Ambition\u201d written by Michele Locastro Rivoli, Democrat and Chronicle Newspaper, December 30, 1998.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n kathryngc1@<\/a>verizon.net<\/p>\n www.katechamberlin.com<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cDream it. Write it. Read it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 July 20, 2016, January, 2017 All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n by Kate Chamberlin<\/p>\n Walworth, NY 14568<\/p>\n <\/p>\n By Kate Chamberlin<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grace dried the dishes her Mother washed. An old ritual that both comforted and got the job done. Grace\u2019s mind wandered down to her parent\u2019s den, where Ken sat with her father.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, Sir,\u201d Ken started, cleared his throat, and began again. \u201cI\u2019ve loved Grace for a long time and, I know, she loves me. We\u2019d like your Blessing for us to get married.\u201d<\/p>\n Grace\u2019s Father continued to watch Lawrence Welk on TV, as if he hadn\u2019t heard Ken.<\/p>\n Eventually, he said, \u201cYes, Son,\u201d I know my daughter has strong feelings for you. But, as to marrying you? That\u2019s her decision.\u201d He turned to smile at Ken. I\u2019ll go upstairs and send her down here. You ask her.\u201d<\/p>\n Grace felt her Father take the dish towel from her.<\/p>\n \u201cYour young man has something to say to you,\u201d he said with a smile in his voice. \u201dI\u2019ll finish up here.\u201d<\/p>\n Grace knew what was coming, but, it surprised her when Ken knelt on one knee in front of her. He took her hand and said, \u201cWill you marry me.\u201d<\/p>\n Grace put her hands on each side of his face and brought his lips to her lips. When the kiss ended, she said, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n They walked hand-in-hand upstairs to show her parents the lovely solitaire diamond in a Tiffany setting mounted on an ornate white-gold band. Grace could feel the tears of happiness on her Mother\u2019s cheeks when they hugged.<\/p>\n Four years had passed to get them to this day. During college, Ken and Grace, Joe and Edie kept in close contact through social media and get-togethers as often as their schedules allowed.<\/p>\n Ken graduated from the Eastman School of Music and stayed on to become a Professor, joined the local orchestra of professional musicians, and helped the local high school with their musicals.<\/p>\n Grace earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts to become a high school Natural Sciences teacher, volunteer \u201cPink Lady\u201d in their local hospital, and fund raiser for her guide dog\u2019s training center.<\/p>\n Edie realized her dream of marrying Joe and owning and operating a shop of fine arts and crafts near where she and Joe lived. She accepted quality consignments and made many of the items she sold.<\/p>\n Joe completed his degree in Forestry Management, landing a job with a national energy company. He surveyed areas where new lines would be installed, insured compliance with environmental regulations, and sometimes flew a small helicopter to inspect the lines.<\/p>\n The August day of Grace\u2019s and Ken\u2019s wedding dawned hot and humid.<\/p>\n \u201cMother,\u201d Grace said slipping on her wedding gown. \u201cI\u2019m so glad we made Edie\u2019s and my dress out of cool crepe. The scoop neckline and long, lace flutter sleeves won\u2019t be too hot.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe lace mantilla with the edge Grandma Kate tatted looks wonderful,\u201d her Mother said. \u201cAnd Edie\u2019s salmon colored bride\u2019s maid dress fits her to a T.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you for spending so much time making our dresses,\u201d Edie said. \u201cThe color of these gladiolas are a perfect match.\u201d<\/p>\n When Grace stood at the back of the little church between her Father and Crackers, he whispered, \u201cJoe escorted Mother to her pew and went to stand with Sandy and Ken at the steps to the altar. Edie had just arrived and turned to smile at you. Sandy is looking back at you. I hope he behaves himself.\u201d<\/p>\n Ken\u2019s best man, Sandy, whispered to him, \u201cWow. Who\u2019d a thought my sis and that mop on four legs could clean up so nicely!\u201d<\/p>\n Ken turned to see that Grace was, indeed, a radiant bride with a well-groomed Golden by her side. Crackers\u2019 harness had a white, silk rose corsage on it.<\/p>\n In the middle of the service, Ken said quietly into Grace\u2019s ear, \u201cA fly landed on Fr. Bollinger\u2019s nose and he didn\u2019t budge. I feel like reaching up to swat it!\u201d<\/p>\n Grace almost laughed, imagining Fr. Bollinger\u2019s surprise if Ken did swat the fly.<\/p>\n It seemed to take forever, but, eventually, Fr. Bollenger said, \u201cYou are now husband and wife. Let no man put asunder what God has joined.\u201d<\/p>\n Ken and Grace went from pew to pew, thanking everyone for coming and inviting them to come to the cake and champagne reception.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hey! You Got Eyeballs In There? By Kate Chamberlin As Grace grows up, some of her stories are happy, some trying, some enlightening, and a few themes are sad, but, they\u2019re all the warp and woof of what goes into the tapestry of life we call Family. The daily living skills demonstrated by the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1122"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1123,"href":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1122\/revisions\/1123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katechamberlin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nHey! You Got Eyeballs In There?<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>Book III: Wife and Mother<\/h3>\n
<\/a>#33. The Wedding<\/h1>\n