The Wedding That Nothing Could Stop

They say it is special to see your children get married. For me, that feels like an understatement. It was pure joy and happiness. I believe I was the happiest person alive yesterday, although my wife, my daughter, my son‑in‑law, his parents, and many others would probably argue for that title and they would be fair claims.

This day had become an important goal for me, especially with the rapid advance of PSP, and it was my critical short‑term focus of attention. I made it. Not perfectly, but I made it, and it was more special than I ever could have imagined.

The current regional conflict tried to deny us the day by first banning and then only allowing gatherings of up to fifty people. We decided to go ahead, knowing many guests would not be able to attend, including very close family. We changed the entire plan and live‑streamed the event to everyone who could not be there in person. It turned out to be incredible. It felt intimate, and with people joining online, it also felt full. I cried tears of joy and felt like the happiest person alive. Good friends and family even got dressed up to watch abroad, while others ate dinner watching it.

The current regional conflict even tried to disrupt us on the way there. There was a rocket alert while driving on the main highway to the South, and we had to crouch down in an embankment. Two soldiers who, like many others, had also stopped their car on the side, helped my son pull me down in time for us to see the flares from the interceptor rocket above us. Once it was safe, the soldiers helped haul me back to the car, and thankfully there were no further alerts for the rest of the evening. I know this must seem surreal to many people but sadly that is our reality at the moment.

PSP was mostly under control throughout the evening, except for a cough caused by a choking incident a few days earlier. My son was a star, helping me move around the event, which is never easy. Eventually, a combination of exhaustion, bright lights on the dance floor, and all that is PSP caused me to power down and freeze. I had to leave the party early. I was frozen for quite a long time, both at the event and in the car, before I came around.

I slept reasonably well and woke up exhausted with a deep, unpleasant but minor cough, but none of that changes the simple truth:

I made it, and it was completely worth it.
It was the best day of my life, building on all the previous best days like my own wedding and the birth of my three children. It was joyous.

I refused to call this wedding the ultimate goal because I want to see many more weddings and happy occasions, even with limitations that will likely increase. All the effort and pain were worth it five times over to see one of my children get married. I will do my best to keep marching forward.

PSP is a beast and has compromised me in many ways, as anyone who read my recent post already knows. It caught up with me last night, but not before I experienced the best moments a father could ever ask for.

Now I need to recover from the exhaustion and the cough and continue pushing forward, day by day and step by step. Or perhaps I should say push by push. I hope and pray there will be many other future happy occasions to look forward to, but irrespective I banked a big one last night. It’s confirmed that there is a reason to fight and to keep on pushing myself – although not every day is a wedding, every day is an opportunity for some even minor magical moments.

My thanks to everybody who participated in helping make the day so special on every level and to the bride and groom for their strength of character and for being so accommodating to my needs.

I have included a couple of pictures because many people have asked. They are screenshots taken by friends from the livestream rather than official photos, but they capture the moment beautifully.