My Blog

This is a copy of the speech that I gave at my sister's wedding reception in July.  The responses I received from this speech were really what got me thinking about starting a blog. I guess I figured if I can get the approval of a room full of family and friends who love me, maybe people that don't know me that well or perfect strangers surfing the Net might like it too....wait...oh well, here it is anyway!

I am the younger sister of the bride, and my name is Elizabeth, but to close friends and family….and especially to Jenn, I have always been known as "Gizmo," "Gizzy" or "Giz."

 

Being Jenn's younger sister, I have always looked up to her as a role model and as an advisor. When we were younger, she joined the swim team, so I joined the swim team. In jr. high and high school, she joined choir, so I joined choir. When she decided to go to U of I for college, I applied to U of I for college. Now she is studying to become a doctor, she is going to be a captain in the U.S. Air Force, and she is getting married. And I…….like to go out and drink with my friends…..

 

But to this day, Jenn is still my best friend and I am so happy that she is doing such amazing things with her life just like I always knew she would and now she has brought Kyle into our family, a guy that matches both her strong ambition and her passion for life.

 

Now for this toast, I had originally wanted to find some witty anecdote or cute story about marriage, but I decided to take a different approach and instead of talking about marriage, I would to talk about mating….

 

There are several different animals on earth that are known to "mate for life." Some of these include: wolves, whales, bald eagles, and penguins.

 

One species not appearing on this list, however, is the homosapien. But, I believe that Jenn and Kyle are the exception, and to illustrate this, I have made a list of similarities between the two of them and some of these animals.

 

First, the wolf.

 

One characteristic of most species of wolf is that they are highly adaptable.  They have been known to thrive in temperate forests, deserts, mountains, tundra, grasslands and urban areas.

 

Both Jenn and Kyle have lived in various different environments. Between the two of them, they have lived in 2 continents, 2 countries, 4 states, and 7 cities with ecosystems ranging from the farmland of southern Pennsylvania, to the urban cities of Dallas and Chicago, to the desert of Qatar.

 

Next, the whale.

 

Whales are mammals. They have excellent vision and large, intelligent brains.  Whales also communicate with each other using lyrical sounds, called a whale song which is often performed as a mating ritual. 

 

Jenn and Kyle are both mammals with large, intelligent brains. And as we all know, Jenn loves to sing and I am sure that her "whale song" was part of what attracted Kyle to her.

 

Now, the bald eagle.

 

The bald eagle can be a solitary creature, but more often it lives with one other eagle, its lifelong mate. As adults, eagles work together with their mate to defend each other and their home against other eagles and predators.

 

The similarities are quite clear in this particular example I think. Kyle is in his own right and symbol of American patriotism like the bald eagle because of his service in the Air Force and of course, his ability to fly.

 

But, more importantly, the dedication and loyalty that the bald eagle shows towards its mate is something that both Jenn and Kyle have definitely illustrated here today.

 

And finally, my favorite, the penguin.

 

Penguin courtship is varied and complex, but normally it includes loud vocalizations, and beak slapping.  Once a penguin finds its mate, they learn to recognize each other, and later their children, simply by the sound of their "voice."

Overall, penguin males and females share their parental care duties, including incubation of the egg and conducting feeding-fasting cycles. One of the longest incubation and fasting shifts occurs in the Emperor penguin. During the Antarctic winter, the female Emperor penguin lays one egg then departs to feed at sea. The male fasts while incubating till the female returns at hatching time. Their time apart can span up to 60 days at a time.

 

Besides the obvious "cuteness factor" comparison between penguins and Jenn and Kyle, I think that the amount of time spent apart from their respective mate in this case is relevant.

 

Jenn and Kyle have maintained a long distance relationship for a majority of their time as a couple. They have had some rough times and maybe some doubts along the way, but the love they had for each other was resilient, and it has led them here today. Because while they know that they may have to be physically apart for a little while, they know that their hearts are now one in the same.

 

So, now I would like to give my formal toast to the bride and groom, "may you continue to thrive in whatever environment you land in, may you continue to hear each other's song, may you always be dedicated in defending one another, and most importantly, no matter how far away or how long you must travel, may you always return back home safely to your mate."