From Union to Reunion

Last Thursday, we practically flew diagonally across the entire continental width of US, from the Atlantic Southeast to the Pacific Northwest. When we told the taxi driver that we were heading for Oregon, he commented that we were going to a colder place. But I demurred, saying that it was going to be warmer, knowing fully well that Tampa was about to be hit by a cold front over the weekend that would plunge the area temperature into the mid-30s.

And I was vindicated. Except for the following day when the sky was overcast, a typical weather this time of the year for Portland, Oregon, the sun broke through for the next two days, banishing the winter gloom to oblivion.

That certainly heralded well for my D’s most momentous day in her 23 years of youthful life thus-far, her wedding, the reason why we were there. It was especially opportune that the day, Feb 17, was also the eve of Chinese New Year (CNY).

For Chinese, the CNY’s eve is the occasion for reunion when family members return from far flung corners of the world because of work, to the place where it all began, the place that everyone calls home. Siblings embrace and engage in animated conversations on happenings in the past year. Children pay homage to their parents, seeking forgiveness for being away. Friends rekindle flames of friendship that have perhaps been doused somewhat due to the distance, promising to keep in touch.

It was a simple but dignified occasion, attended by relatives and close friends, and presided by a judge vested by the State to solemnize marriage. It was held in the home of the groom’s parents, the morning sun filtering through the white satin drapes of the glass window, lending a haloed glow to the newly wed (like so).

After eliciting the mandatory “I do” and witnessing the exchange of wedding rings, the judge bid a retreat to attend to the conjugal needs of other husband-and-wife to be that he had lined up for the balance of his day, and so I was told by the friendly judge whose name escapes me now.

“We are family now,” Mary said to me, wearing a contented smile after witnessing his son’s transformation into a man of responsibility. Mary is Dan’s mother, and Dan is of course my son-in-law. And here's a portrait of the two proud mothers, having labored over the years to nurture two toddlers-turned-kids-turned-teens-turned adolescents to two young adults who are at the threshold of starting a family of their own.

Dan is really a fine young man, patient and loving, both traits that did not go unnoticed in our brief and yet close interactions (read here and here). He seems even-keeled, unruffled, and spots an engaging smile that could possibly weather all storms. We are happy that our D has found the harbor of her life where she could regroup, and together face life’s many challenges in seeking and living their dreams.