Family member wanted to Zoom in

DEAR AMY >> I live on the East Coast. Most of my family members live on the West Coast.

Recently I received an email from my cousin’s daughter (we live in the same city), letting me know that my 95-year-old aunt (her grandmother), who resides on the West Coast, has COVID-19.

What hurt me about her email was the last line, saying that she was leaving shortly for her honeymoon. I had no idea she had gotten married.

I knew she was engaged; this occurred the month before the pandemic started.

However, I didn’t know about her wedding (held on the West Coast). My family never informed me.

I was told about it after the fact and my West Coast cousins let me know that they attended the wedding in person.

I am hurt by the lack of communication.

I let them know it wasn’t about not being invited to the wedding; it was about not being told about it.

Last Thanksgiving, the daughter of another cousin (who we see more often since they live closer) had a “COVID” wedding. We all watched it via Zoom.

I let my family know that a Zoom call would have been nice if everyone in the family couldn’t be invited.

I feel now that I no longer have family on the West Coast.

Am I wrong to feel that way?

— Distressed

DEAR DISTRESSED >> Your feelings are your feelings. They are neither wrong nor right.

The essential question is do you want to feel that way?

Weddings can be extremely complicated social and family events and sometimes marrying couples deliberately don’t invite people to their weddings because they don’t want them to feel pressured to go to the trouble and expense to attend. It’s possible that you fell into that category. Or the couple simply limited their guest list and you didn’t make the cut.

Or they messed up. You are upset and hurt. You have expressed this.

You have taken your disappointment and magnified it into a blooming estrangement. That is an extremely unfortunate choice, and I urge you to rethink it.

You have an elderly and ill aunt on the West Coast. She deserves more of your actual and emotional attention than this wedding snub.