Finally, a Wedding. It Was About Time

[GeoWilliam750]

Last edited Sun Jun 14, 2020, 09:18 PM - Edit history (1)

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/13/fashion/weddings/finally-a-wedding-it-was-about-time.html?action=click&module=Features&pgtype=Homepage

"At 4:30 p.m., when I walked into her room and took her hand at her bedside, Grandma Velda immediately began delivering her prayer, unprompted and unscripted. I watched the familiar choreography of her facial features in prayer. I listened intently to her chapped red lips wrap around the words that were drowned out by the whiz of oxygen. It was possibly the most precious 25 seconds of my life.

The minister from our family’s church continued the ceremony with our vows and the exchange of rings. We used the ring my grandmother had given me in early August when I was back for a visit — a dainty worn gold ring with a tiny diamond in the middle flanked by an etching of an orange blossom on either side — a traditional engagement ring of the 1930s. When I realized I didn’t have a ring for Dave, my father pulled off his ring and handed it to us. It fit Dave. “Temporarily on loan,” he said with a smile.

I kept my eyes on my grandma throughout the ceremony when I wasn’t called to look at my husband. My left hand gripped hers and my right rested in his. When her head wasn’t drooping, she gazed up at me two or three times and whispered, “You look beautiful.” We celebrated at the end with vanilla cupcakes and sparkling grape juice — the last liquid she voluntarily took. After the ceremony, Dave leaned in close to her. “I told her I knew how easy it is to worry about loved ones but that she need not worry because I’d take good care of you for the rest of my days,” Dave later told me.

She was bright and present for us during that brief ceremony, but she was slipping away. Only 12 hours later, after painstakingly analyzing every possible direction, we decided to let her go and put her on hospice. I had always imagined her passing away peacefully and willingly, asleep in her recliner while “Bonanza” played in the background. But another 24 hours later, my family labored through hymns and tears at her bedside. Her heart stopped beating from under my palm at 5:40 p.m. on Sept. 23 — the first day of fall."

Isn't love wonderful.

On edit: Sorry, forgot to include the link. Not my story, the NYT. I only wish I could write as well as this lady does.

[magicarpet]

1. What a thrill it must have been to witness and experience the ceremony of matrimony must,...

..... have been for her. Knowing her ring blessed your marriage surely brought comfort and joy.

[sheshe2]

2. Thank you for sharing, Geo.

Love abounds in a family. Yours is a beautiful one

Grandma Velda is smiling down on you and Dave.