Enough already.

For the second time in a little over a month, we're unexpectedly back in Albany trying to cope with the loss of a close family member.

Last time, it was my grandmother. Her death wasn't really unexpected—she was battling terminal cancer in the hopes of making it to our wedding—and the timing was such that I was able to make it back to Albany to be with her in her final hours and then with my family when they got the news. Everything that has happened since her death, from funeral arrangements to the distribution of her estate, has been handled with grace and understanding from everyone involved, and help keeps materializing from unexpected places at the exact moment when we need it most. So, despite the sadness we all feel at losing her, there have been lots of places to find comfort.

But this time, everything has been different, and comfort is hard to find except in the one place we know we can always find it: the love of our family and friends. (As Nicole did for me, I'll leave it to her to disclose details whenever and to whatever extent she sees fit.)

So, once again the wedding planning gets put on the back burner and we gather our strength for a different kind of challenge. It's funny—last week, I would never have guessed that tonight I'd be pining for the simple joys of printer problems and budget crises.