Zoom! You're married


It's hard enough to describe a virtual wedding to an 85-year-old mother with no computer. Especially when she recently referred to Facebook as Flick. But truth be told, this mother wasn't all that savvy about it either.

With my son's official wedding postponed by COVID from April to next March, a civil ceremony was in order. So I'm thinking, OK, we go to an office in our town, the deputy mayor officiates and everyone else watches on Zoom. Got it. 

No I didn't. What actually happened was that we stood in front of the couple in the bride's parents' backyard, with the deputy mayor a remote presence, and anyone to whom we sent a link trying haphazardly to tune in. I suspect one of my relatives made it because she has a teenage granddaughter: They'e all whizzes with technology.

As it turns out, my son and his bride were the first couple married remotely in our town, so we were told. While it wasn't a replacement for the official ceremony, it did the trick. We also watched both our sons' graduations remotely, which basically meant hearing their names called out and displayed on the TV screen. Hardly pomp and circumstance.

It was kind of a bummer, especially since I had planned to take my mom to my older son's graduation from medical school in Virginia. "So we can't see him in person?" she asked. "What the hell! I wanted to see him in his cap and gown."

At least she got to see pictures of his "wedding." On Flick.
 





 

 

         

 

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