Karen/daisy17, I think you've spent more leisurely happy-hours with Carmen than I've ever been able to. We've lived in different cities for more than ten years, so our visits are always furious life catch-ups on the recent past. There never seems to be time to explore stories from the more distant past. So you had heard more of the stories going into the wedding, but we both came to the same conclusion: Seeing Carmen in her childhood setting reveals SO much about who she is. (And yes—it is hard to imagine you and I have only spent a handful of hours together, IRL!)

Angie, a diverse crowd, indeed! Not necessarily in the way we typically talk about diversity, but the range of personalities and viewpoints and backgrounds was impressive! And there Carmen was, perfectly herself in the middle of it all. I love that.

Trina, it's pretty wonderful, isn't it, that the people we know and love well are complex and always evolving, giving us new things to discover and respond to.