Weddings and Funerals

It's been three months since my dad died and I had settled into a nice routine in which it felt, as Jo put it, that he was back in India and we just hadn't seen him for some time. Then I met a friend for a drink the other evening and he said rather bluntly that I was now an orphan. Not a word that should startle a grown man, but it did remind me of the inconvenient truth. In the midst of this I spoke with my friends back in Hyderabad where we will travel at the end of the year to take care of my dad's ashes. And this morning Jo and I started clearing out my dad's room. Finally.

So we opened the windows to let in the fresh air and down below us is in Karen's backyard a wedding was unfolding. Earlier this morning while she was in the shower, Vivian had decided that it was a good day for Evan to marry (neighbor) Ava. As they got dressed, Evan said that he was going to kiss Ava. Jo warned that he couldn't kiss her on the lips. Only on her cheek. Evan said "and I can only kiss my family on the lips". And we wondered how we come up with these strange rules for our children. Specially as he will learn just the opposite soon. Don't kiss your family on the lips. That's only for non-family. Till they are family....and the cycle continues.