Love has no bounds, yet marrying later in life can still take people by surprise. One woman told the story of her 70-year-old mother-in-law, who decided to marry a guy she had only recently met. However, the decision behind her mother-in-law’s marriage had a deeper importance that she hadn’t realized until now.

The woman’s letter:

My 70-year-old mother-in-law is getting married. She met a man in her nursing home, and now they’re throwing this big wedding. I mean, at her age, it seems a bit… much, right? Shouldn’t she be focusing on her grandkids instead of pretending to be a bride? 

  I was annoyed, thinking she was making a fool of herself, but then my husband sat me down. He told me that the man she’s marrying isn’t just a random nursing home fling. He’s actually her first love-the one she was forced to leave behind when she got married decades ago. They’d reconnected, and this wedding was their second chance at happiness.

I didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t just some silly whim; it was a love story that had spanned a lifetime. I realized I had been judging too quickly. What should I do now?