A Wedding with Tears...of Joy!

One of my sons got married this weekend.  He is the first of my children to wed.  I feared that not having my husband by my side as we watched our son become a husband would put a damper on my joy.  I couldn't have been more wrong.

Yes, I cried.  What mother of the groom doesn't?  But they were tears of joy.  And while my late husband wasn't physically present, his presence was surely felt.  And we made sure he was an integral part of the wedding.

There was a chair for him beside me.  We placed a picture of him in it...and the boutonniere that he would have worn as his son's best man.

I also took some of his dress shirts and had them made into handkerchiefs for me, my son, his bride, his brothers, and my late husband's parents and sisters to hold during the ceremony.  They were embroidered with our family number "27" which is code for "I love you 24-7."

My son did without a groom's cake to have a Cigar Bar in memory of his father.  My late husband was crazy about his cigars and all the men smoked a big stogie in tribute to him.

I have discovered that as time eases the pain of grief, I am able to embrace with joy these life changing events.  Steve will always be there...if only in my heart.

27
Cyna