The Big Day...Is Finally Here

 Today, family and friends gathered in Cache Valley to celebrate a wedding, the union of two people to become one entity, a new beginning, a new family. They will be known as a couple and no longer single.

I had no idea how much work it would be.

Sure, I was married almost thirty-one years ago. It was a while back, but I still remember many things about the early 1990s. I don't remember all the things that make up a wedding, mostly because I didn't pay much attention at the time.

It was months ago when my then future son-in-law asked if he could talk to my wife and I before my daughter returned from work. We said, "sure," and he asked us the question. Flash forward several days and weeks and here we are, in a rented room, food and decorations and a borrowed arch all in place. 

I thought, when the question was asked, we had plenty of time to prepare--plus, a couple of years ago, our oldest son was married--that I was prepared. We survived my son's wedding, no problem. Having a daughter get married increases the the complication factor exponentially. 

I had no idea about that, either.

Things are different with daughters...plain and simple, and I'm not just talking about the responsibilities of planning and pulling off a wedding and reception. No, things are different. The term, "Father of the Bride" has forever changed in my mind. And even though it's my daughter and her husband driving away as a married couple, they're not the only ones who have changed.

I am a blessed man, a very blessed man. We've increased our family, expanded the stakes of our tent to included others. Close friends are now even closer. The sun will rise tomorrow with so many changes having taken place. 

I'm one of those changes. It was a good day.