Our daughter’s wedding was fast approaching on Tuesday, December 28th, and Omicron was proving to be the black shadow that cast a cloud on the whole thing. One by one, friends and relatives messaged us that they could not come, due to illness or fear of illness. Plus, we had been planning an outdoor chuppah, and the weather forecast was calling for 100% chance of rain, all day. You don’t see a bold prediction like that too often. I completely understood all of it, but was feeling terribly disappointed.

Then our son tested positive for Covid. Six days before the wedding. 

I was devastated. We had worked so hard to bring our daughter home from Israel, booking her tickets before Israel reopened its borders and ticket prices surged, then a few weeks later, scrambling to change her ticket so she could travel before the US became a “red country,” barring travel altogether. We were continuing to monitor the situation to figure out if and how she could return to Israel afterwards. It was so important to us to have everyone together. Then our son, who lives four miles away, tested positive and couldn’t there? It was hard to stomach.

I told my son to ask his doctor if there was any way his quarantine could be shortened, considering his illness was very mild, he was totally vaccinated, and had already had Covid. But before he could get ahold of his doc, on Monday, the day before the wedding, the CDC came out with a new statement: Quarantine times, once symptoms were gone, could be shortened to five days instead of ten.

This news broke on Monday. His fifth day of quarantine, and the day before the wedding. 

The rain stopped that Tuesday in the afternoon. It changed over to snow (much better in my opinion). We had ordered two cases of umbrellas, arranging them nicely in a little basket for all who wanted. No one touched them, because the snow stopped too, leaving us with an ethereal white blanket against which to have our magnificent outdoor chuppah.

I have to say that I’m very proud of myself. Because on the Sunday before the wedding, I was Mrs. Grumpy. The weather, Covid, it was all getting to me. These are things you just can’t plan for. But then on Monday morning, before anything changed, I woke up and said to myself, “Self, enough being grumpy. Now it’s time to cheer up, focus on the positive, and put on your game face. Your daughter is getting married and that’s all that matters right now! Whoever is meant to be there will be there. Whatever the weather is meant to be, it will be. So cut it out and get back to living.”

This little pep talk actually worked. And then I got the news about the CDC and the next day saw my fears about the weather disappear like a puff of smoke. But the important thing here is that I was in charge of my mood, and I decided to cheer up whether my desires were fulfilled or not. And that’s the part that’s in my hands, and that’s why I’m proud of myself. Because I always want to be the kind of person    who maintains her own happiness in the face of struggle, but sometimes when emotions are high I forget my commitment to myself.

It’s so easy to forget, to obsess over the details and lose sight of the big picture. And when we don’t, it’s like a seismic spiritual earthquake. And the bride and groom got married either way, with or without Covid, with or without rain, because the important things in life are too special to be ruined by details.

Mazel Tov!