Father of the Bride

“Who gives this woman to be married to this man?” These were the words I heard in a wedding rehearsal on a recent Friday night. And, there I was holding back tears. I think becoming a dad makes a man sappy. I mean for Christ’s sake it was just the rehearsal. And, my friend’s dad had just walked the wedding coordinator down the aisle. And, the wedding coordinator was too old and too mean to be a beautiful bride. So, why was I tearing up? I think it’s just the idea that a dad would give his daughter to be married to a man. That’s why I hope I never have a daughter to have to give away. I would probably kidnap her and lock her away rather than let her marry some dude that might not treat her as nicely as her mom and I would have.

I also almost cried during a visit to the movies recently. Janet Jackson’s character in “Why did I get married, too?” announced that she and her husband were getting a divorce. And, then they pursued to fight, one wanting to be married and the other refusing. And, the final chapter of the movie ends with them fighting and the husband being involved in a car accident. And, I sat there thinking I never want to be that couple. Once you’ve invested that amount of time into life with a person, you should fight for your love. I’m not saying that I’ll know how to do that if ever faced with the situation, but I hope I learn.

So, I know all of this is random, but guess what? On Friday, June 25, 2010, Kimberly (Patrice) Washington Wright will have been my wife for five (count them, 1-2-3-4-FIVE) years!! Her mom and dad gave her away and I hope they are happy with the decision. I hope to be her beau for many many more years -- maybe like 55 more. So that means we can have no divorces and no car accidents that could potentially leave us grieving for years.