Praise then darkness, and creation unfinished

The "two kids" is an error, possibly because Simon had two children from his first marriage, who my mother referred to as her stepchildren. One of them, Ralph, lives near London; he'd been helpful to my mother in various ways over the years. Last week, he talked to the synagogue and the burial society so Mark and I didn't have to.

My mother moved to the UK to be with Simon, and they got married after a year or two of her leaving the country every 12 weeks or so to restart the clock on 90-day tourist visas. (Drive to Holyhead, take the ferry to Dun Laoghaire, stay long enough to officially enter Ireland, then take the ferry back to the UK.)

Simon was my mother's second cousin, and they met at the party to celebrate her parents' sixtieth wedding anniversary, in New York. The wedding was in London, and I told the UK customs/immigration person, truthfully, that I would be staying with my cousin.

I saw your post before I saw this email, making it a pleasant surprise.