Raphaela's First Wedding

Last night, Raphaela and I attended the wedding of one of her nursery teachers, and as a two and a half year old, she still had a hard time understanding the significance of the event.  She (and some of her class mates) assumed that this was simply a really fancy birthday party for Oshrit, and expressed surprise that we had not driven to the Gan itself.  Makes sense to them:  she wore a tiara, Oshrit sat in a special chair and was the center of attention for the evening. Once I re-explained the concept, she asked, "Will there be food there?"  Raphaela, always the practical child...

Because of my obsession with time, we were one of the first to arrive at the reception, in fact, around the same time as the bride and her immediate family.  Soon after, however, many of her friends trickled into the hall, and most of the woman's side was comprised of toddlers and their parents, and staff from the Gan.  Raphaela felt so comfortable that she soon took off her shoes, and started dancing and twirling and rolling on the floor with some of the other children.  It was a unique and joyous opportunity for me to watch my daughter play with her friends, and her dancing in sync with the music almost moved me to tears.

It also felt like an appropriate way for the parents and the staff of the Gan to celebrate together, our last hurrah so to speak, as next year many of us will move onto other educational venues, and our children will not see each other every day.  It felt comfortable, like home, or like a college reunion.

I eagerly participated in several of the Jerusalem wedding customs, including getting a blessing from the bride for myself and Raphaela, as the bride has 'special powers' on the day of her wedding;  several of us women were told to sit in the bride's chair, as it brought a "segualah" (good luck charm/Old Wives tale) for marriage and pregnancy; and I completed the trifecta by drinking some wine from the under the Chupah.

Raphaela and the other kids, despite their enthusiasm, started to show their exhaustion about half-way through the Chupah, and so we parents snuck out quietly during the Jewish marriage ceremony.  And while Raphaela went to sleep later than usual, she woke up exactly as expected (5:30 am) and we were the first family at Gan in the morning.