Weddings and Funerals, Feeding the hungry

At Bobby and Lin’s wedding I thought of how difficult it is to get people together. It is almost certain that we love each other; family, extended family and friends. I know there are exceptions to the “love each other” part, but in a general way we do like to keep track of those people of whom we at least have long-term knowledge, childhood memories, etc.
So why is it that the only way we can feel free to justify a break in a schedule that is doing very little other than getting us by, is to be invited to a wedding or called to a funeral, not that the two are alike other than they provide an excuse to gather. And yet there are such rich similarities in the saved person’s life because a funeral moves the loved one who has died in this world, leaving behind life-long friends, to a wedding in the next. A wedding in this life, for a saved person, gives us someone to share this life with until a funeral moves one of us on to the final wedding where there will be no parting: a happy ending and a happy beginning either way.
At this wedding it was good to see a couple who had struggled to be together finally be together. And though those who had gathered together to see them joined as one, may not get together again for many years to come, Bobby and Lin will have this moment as a beginning for the rest of their time together. It was good to be there.
After the wedding I had the Santos boys and Chase come to the apartment to sit out the reception. I had made a casserole of some things we had available - rice, chicken, beans and an condensed soup – which I found out later was being saved by Mama for a special meal at some future date – and they acted like it had come from the kitchen of a five star restaurant.
I almost let it go to my head until I realized that none of them had eaten breakfast and it was almost 2pm. Peanut butter on crackers would have seemed like a five course meal to them. They were starving! So I accepted the thanks and let my culinary genius sulk.
The boys will never know the difference.