22 years ago, my son and his fiance were living in my house. She, came from USA and there were problems which effected her parents being able to come to UK, so they told me that when they did get married it would be small and all I did ask is that I would at least be notified when that was going to happen.
Sadly, in the April my youngest son died in a tragic accident. I was devastated.....as was the whole family. A year later a memorial was held for him by his work mates and as the family travelled across London on the underground I noticed that my son and fiancee were wearing identical rings. When I managed to get him alone for a few minutes I asked him about that and he (very embarrassed) told me that they had got married just four days prior to that awful death. His original plan had been to tell the family at the next time many of us were together - but with that tragic death he had kept delaying that announcement.
The longer it had gone on the harder it became to tell us, so we were now just past their first anniversary.
I felt so many emotions, but mainly anxiety not to do or say anything that would cause bad feelings between us. Nothing could turn back the clocks and allow me to be at their wedding (just them and two friends).
So, when everyone was sitting at the memorial meal, I asked for the microphone, thanked all attending and then asked for everyone to welcome my new daughter-in-law.
Just to say the wedding is so very unimportant - twenty two years later, whilst still mourning my youngest child, I see with so much joy the happiness of my eldest one with his wife.
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