Mazel tov!

[mamadeb]

Pretty much exactly a year ago (less two days), my cousin Rachel lost her husband of many years to ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease.) He was a gentle, sunny man who managed to survive long enough to see several children married - he even got to attend a son's wedding a week before he died.

Today, we found out that Rachel is getting married again. Tomorrow. He's a neighbor, they've known each other for years. If I go to her house at 10AM tomorrow, I can go to the wedding in Lawrence, NY. For which she's currently cooking because they were going to have a barbecue, but the weather isn't cooperating. They chosen to have a small second wedding (since their custom says that children don't attend parent's remarriages, it would be small.)

I don't think I'm going, and there won't be sheva brochos, but I'm very happy she's found someone else.

Comments

[ailsaek.livejournal.com]

Children don't attend parents' remarriages? How horrid. If Kathy had refused to come to Adam's & my wedding, I'd have been devastated. That just doesn't seem like an auspiciosu start to a blended family.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

It's not a common custom - most of the second weddings I've attended have included the children from the former marriages, but it is a Lubavitch thing.

I think they believe it's disrespectful for the first spouse. It's not that the children *refuse* to attend. It's that they don't even assume they can go. There's a real difference.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

As I started reading your post, I wondered why having one's husband die of ALS would be a "Mazel tov!" situation. You might want to consider putting the good news first...

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Point

[indigocat.livejournal.com]

Praying for her to have good weather for the wedding.