a bitter-sweet ceremony in February

A friend I worked with got married this week.  Tolga was the witness and we attended the Nikah with the whole family.  It was only the ceremony - held in an auditorium-type wedding center, attended by a judge and some relatives.  

The friend is American and I worked with him at my old school.  He is from Virginia, his parents Midwestern, and his bride is Turkish.  We've had many discussions about culture, life in Turkey, and cross-cultural marriages.  (He has many opinions on all topics).  I have met his parents, and he and his visiting sister have joined us for more than one Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

We've met his parents as well.  Joined them for beers or tea on the several occasions they have visited.  

Their wedding was originally scheduled for Christmas Eve.  His parents and sister had come, they had celebrated in the week coming up to the wedding, but on December 23rd, after breakfast in the hotel - Michael's parents returned to their hotel room where his mom complained of dizziness and then collapsed.  

She went into cardiac arrest.  His father did CPR, an ambulance came and they continued to work - getting a heartbeat but never respirations.  She was pronounced dead just before noon.  The wedding was postponed, and Christmas was spent struggling with the details you can never imagine in a foreign country: what to do with a body of a loved one far from home.  

So the ceremony this week was quiet.  The celebrations will done over the summer in America.  And while bitter-sweet - I'm really happy to see them married.  

a celebration