The bridal party included various relatives and Adam’s niece and nephew as flower children. Adam was escorted down the aisle by mom Leslie and dad Joel (yes, we have two Joels now). Stacey was escorted by Linda and me. My heart was popping out of my chest until Adam came for Stacey. I was so excited. The service was co-officiated by Adam’s family rabbi and our family cantor, who is our long-time friend and confidant (Cantah H).
My only concession during the wedding service was that I did not have the stamina to stand on the bima the whole time. Someone gave me a chair to sit down. I had made the first part of my goal – to walk my daughter down the aisle. So, I was good.
Next up was dinner. As when we walked down the aisle, there was not a dry eye in the dining area as Linda and I entered the room. And now I was able to chat more with our family and friends.
My only other concession that night was that I had to lie down for about a half hour during the lengthy dinner (many courses). This was due to my back bothering me, not due to my cancer recovery. I thought that was kind of ironic. After the half hour, I felt re-invigorated and ready to go full tilt. And I did.
Before we got to the dessert portion of the dinner, I accomplished the other parts of my goal. I danced with Stacey. And I offered a toast. During the father-daughter dance, Stacey and I kept looking at each other. I think our recollections differ. My recollection: Stacey said, if you start crying, I’ll start crying too. Then she started crying, which led to me crying. Her recollection :