{"id":95718,"date":"2025-01-17T11:42:52","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T04:42:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/levanews.com\/?p=50315"},"modified":"2025-01-17T11:43:04","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T04:43:04","slug":"my-mil-is-getting-married-at-70-and-i-couldnt-accept-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/my-mil-is-getting-married-at-70-and-i-couldnt-accept-this\/","title":{"rendered":"My MIL is getting married at 70, and I couldn&rsquo;t accept this!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"alignnone' size-full wp-image-50325 aligncenter src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/01%5C/1080X1350-2025-01-17T113410.181.png%5C%22" alt='\"\"' width='\"1080\"' height='\"1350\"' title='\"\"'>\n</p><p><strong><em>The moment I saw the photo in the family group chat, I couldn&rsquo;t believe in my eyes. There was my mother-in-law, Doreen, standing proudly in a wedding dress \u2014 full veil, bouquet, the whole deal. I almost dropped my phone. She was planning to get married? At 70? And to someone she\u2019d only known for a few months at the nursing home? Was this some kind of late-life crisis?\n<p>\u201cCan you believe this?\u201d I murmured to my husband, Jake, holding out the phone.\n</p><p>\u201cGood for her.\u201d He glanced at the screen and shrugged.\n</p><p>\u201cGood for her?\u201d I echoed, incredulous. \u201cShe\u2019s 70, Jake. Seventy! Isn\u2019t this a bit&hellip;ridiculous? And where\u2019s all this wedding money coming from? Shouldn\u2019t she be saving for the grandkids?\u201d\n</p><p>Jake frowned but didn\u2019t respond, turning back to the game he was watching. That only made me more annoyed.\n</p><p><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"' wp-image-50329 src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/01%5C/istockphoto-827897438-612x612-1.jpg%5C%22" alt='\"\"' width='\"916\"' height='\"612\"' title='\"\"'>\n</p><p>The next morning, I was still fuming as I scrolled through the chat. More pictures of Doreen and her fianc\u00e9, Frank, filled the thread. They were holding hands, laughing, even trying on matching sneakers at what looked like a mall.\n</p><p>I couldn\u2019t get over how absurd this seemed. A wedding? At her age? It felt&hellip; indulgent. Shouldn\u2019t she be concentrating on her health or spending time with family instead of prancing around in a wedding dress?\n</p><p>I decided to vent to my sister, Carla.\n</p><p>\u201cCan you believe Doreen\u2019s getting married at 70?\u201d I huffed, pacing the kitchen while on the phone. \u201cShe\u2019s throwing a big wedding too! She could\u2019ve kept it small, but no, it\u2019s got to be a whole event.\u201d\n</p><p>\u201cWhy are you so worked up about this?\u201d Carla asked. \u201cHonestly, I think it\u2019s kind of sweet. Everyone deserves to be happy, no matter their age.\u201d\n</p><p>\u201cSweet?\u201d I scoffed. \u201cIt\u2019s embarrassing! Picture her walking down the aisle in a puffy white dress like some 20-something bride. It\u2019s cringeworthy!\u201d\n</p><p><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"alignnone' wp-image-50324 aligncenter src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/01%5C/451670170_491916559987824_7184891690945822866_n.png%5C%22" alt='\"\"' width='\"980\"' height='\"653\"' title='\"\"'>\n</p><p>Carla sighed. \u201cOr maybe it\u2019s brave. Do you know how many people her age stop living and just exist? If she\u2019s found someone who makes her happy, why shouldn\u2019t she celebrate?\u201d\n</p><p>Her words gave me pause, but I wasn\u2019t ready to let go of my indignation just yet.\n</p><p>Later that week, Jake asked me to join him at Doreen\u2019s nursing home for a small engagement celebration. He wanted me there, so I reluctantly agreed, already bracing myself for the awkward speeches and Doreen\u2019s over-the-top excitement.\n</p><p>When we arrived, the party was in full swing. There were balloons, a table full of snacks, and a cheerful crowd of residents, staff, and a few family members. And there was Doreen \u2014 glowing, laughing, and clinging to Frank\u2019s arm like a giddy teenager.\n</p><p>\u201cIsn\u2019t it wonderful?\u201d she asked, pulling me into a hug. \u201cFrank and I never thought we\u2019d find love again, but here we are!\u201d\n</p><p>I forced a polite smile. \u201cIt\u2019s&hellip;something.\u201d\n</p><p>Frank, a tall man with kind eyes and a gentle demeanor, shook my hand. \u201cI know this seems sudden, but Doreen has made me happier than I\u2019ve been in years. She\u2019s truly special.\u201d\n</p><p><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"alignnone' wp-image-50323 aligncenter src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/01%5C/473415142_604851398803718_176615801135243769_n.png%5C%22" alt='\"\"' width='\"919\"' height='\"611\"' title='\"\"'>\n</p><p>As the party continued, I watched them. They were inseparable, teasing each other, sharing smiles, and laughing with the guests. The cynic in me wanted to roll my eyes, but another part of me felt&hellip;something. A twinge of guilt, perhaps?\n</p><p>Toward the end of the night, Doreen stood up to make a toast.\n</p><p>\u201cThank you all for being here,\u201d she began, her voice trembling slightly. \u201cWhen I moved into this nursing home, I thought my life was over. I\u2019d lost my independence, my home, and a lot of my hope. But then I met Frank. He reminded me that life doesn\u2019t stop just because we\u2019re older. There\u2019s still so much joy, so much love, and so much to celebrate.\u201d\n</p><p>Her words hit me like a ton of bricks. I had been so focused on how \u201cridiculous\u201d her wedding seemed that I hadn\u2019t considered what it meant for her. This wasn\u2019t about pretending to be young or wasting money. It was about finding happiness and embracing it, regardless of age.\n</p><p>On the drive home, I turned to Jake. \u201cI think I\u2019ve been too harsh on your mom.\u201d\n</p><p><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"alignnone' size-full wp-image-50322 aligncenter src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/01%5C/473272580_855538769927311_1929575081064438164_n.png%5C%22" alt='\"\"' width='\"1024\"' height='\"700\"' title='\"\"'>\n</p><p>\u201cYou think?\u201d he replied, a small smile tugging at his lips.\n</p><p>I sighed. \u201cAlright, I\u2019ll admit it. Seeing her so happy with Frank&hellip; it\u2019s not ridiculous. It\u2019s inspiring. If I ever find myself in her position, I hope I have the guts to do what she\u2019s doing.\u201d\n</p><p>Jake reached over to squeeze my hand. \u201cShe\u2019s going to love hearing that.\u201d\n</p><p>And she did. The next time we visited, I told her I\u2019d help her plan the wedding, and for the first time, I truly meant it. Because Doreen wasn\u2019t just playing dress-up \u2014 she was showing us all that love, joy, and new beginnings don\u2019t have an expiration date.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"</p><p>The moment I saw the photo in the family group chat, I couldn&rsquo;t believe in my eyes. There was my mother-in-law, Doreen, standing proudly in a wedding dress \u2014 full veil, bouquet, the whole deal. I almost dropped my phone. She was planning to get married? At 70? And to someone she\u2019d only known for &hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":95719,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1439],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95718"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95725,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95718\/revisions\/95725"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}</p></em></strong></p>