Carving club adopts young couple

I doubt if the young couple who peeked into our carving group a month or so ago expected what happened last week.
They were new to the community and were checking out activities at the local community center. The young woman, Natalie, had just sampled one of the exercise classes. She was already so fit that she wasn’t even out of breath. We explained what we were doing and the couple promised to come back the following week. None of us ever expected to see them again.
When they actually showed up we put knives and wood into their hands and grilled them about any and everything. We told them about upcoming events around town. We told them about the best places to shop. We wrote notes so they wouldn’t forget what we had said.
They kept coming back every week. We soon learned that the guy, Noah, wasn’t exactly as new at carving as he had let on. In fact, both of them show signs of immense talent. For the most part, they are quiet but we have gleaned enough information to satisfy our curiosity.
They are recent college graduates. Noah is from Texas, of all places, but not anywhere near my daughter. Natalie is from Canada. Good thing we don’t have a wall between our countries, or we would never had met this delightful young lady.
The couple arrived in Portland because of Noah’s job. They are looking forward to the annual town-wide garage sale otherwise known informally as the tractor and engine show. They plan to fit in by renting a golf cart. They are surprised at how many of the vehicles drive around town almost year round.
They told us of Natalie’s plan to gain American citizenship. In light of all the bad news, random and not so random shootings and political rhetoric, I am surprised that anyone would want to be part of our country. Then I remind myself that news is only news because it is out of the ordinary. The acts of kindness that define our lives seldom make the papers.
This brings me to last week. Noah and Natalie got married over the weekend. They had been expecting to go to the courthouse and fill out a lot of paperwork and that would be it. Instead, they were treated to a proper ceremony in a gazebo in a nearby town.
At our regular meeting our best baker presented a wedding cake she had made for them. Someone brought punch. Someone else brought coffee. One of us took their phone so we could record the festivities. We told them they had to cut the cake, then schooled them in how to do it. They were told to feed each other a piece. When Natalie picked up a fork, she was instructed to use her hands.
In between giggles, they managed to get the cake into each others mouth without making too much of a mess. Then we poured punch and told them to intertwine their arms to drink. This took longer than expected because they were very careful to not spill it on each other.
We finally gave their phone back and they huddled together while laughing at the pictures. After we were finished with the most delicious wedding cake I ever had, we all went back to working on our projects.
Several conversations were going on at once, one of which revolved around pig wrestling at the fair. Noah’s ears perked up and he wanted to know how he could get in on this. We gave him enough information to ensure that he can participate in getting muddy later this summer.
We have adopted these two young people as our own. For two hours a week they are a part of our family. When they peeked into the room for the first time, I doubt if they realized that they would have so many new people who would do their best to make them feel accepted. They surely didn’t expect cake, punch and coffee.