The Father of the Groom Speaks...

With my son's wedding this past weekend, and all of the preparation and out of town guests who came into town for the wedding, I just have not had much of a chance to blog.

The wedding of one of your kids is one of those watershed moments in your life, like your own marriage and birth of your children and grandchildren. There was a lot going through my head, as I reflected on Ian's birth at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas in 1987 and moved on to the steps in his life from infancy to toddlerhood, pre-school, school, elementary and high school.  (I keep seeing the little blond boy with the bowl-cut) I coached him in soccer as a kid. He went through some tough times growing up. He had migraines, gained weight because of the medicines that he was on. You cannot tell to look at him now, but as 10-12 year old, he was heavy and had to put up with a lot of grief from other kids because of his weight. He lost the weight, and over time became a very confident young man. He gained a great deal of maturity when he studied in Niigata, Japan for a year in high school. He did well in college at Rutgers University, then transferred from their to North Hennepin Community College and then to the University of Minnesota, where he just graduated with a degree in Asian Studies and Languages. 

Two years ago, he and his girlfriend Andrea had my grandson, Duncan. It was not a planned pregnancy, but they stuck together through thick and thin. When you don't have money and a young child, the stress can be enough to break up a relationship. In spite of everything, Ian and Andrea stuck together, and they decided to get married this past Saturday. There were well over a couple of hundred people at the wedding and the reception. A great time was had by all. We killed off all of the Shiraz, and Vinha Verde(a whole case) and 4 16 gallon kegs of beer. People had a good time, but nobody got stupid.

I've had a couple of days to process all of this, and I just have to say how proud I am of the man my son has become. He's smart, thoughtful, courteous, treats his wife well and is a patient father to Duncan.

They have now found an apartment in Saint Paul, where they will move in September. I am going to miss having Ian, Andrea and Duncan around on a day-to-day basis...but it is time for them to move on and become their own family unit.

A long time ago, somebody said that in parenthood, the idea of the job is to work yourself out of a job.  I think my wife(who looked smashing on Saturday) and I have done a good job of that.