The Daughter's Wedding

 

Oh wow... I woke up one morning and found myself old enough to marry off a daughter. The ceremony took place in a small, light filled church infused with a gentle joy. The celebration lunch took place at Candlenut, which was equally joy filled. A wait staff explained to me that Chef Malcolm who helms Candlenut is a kind and caring boss. The wait staff were happy staff: truly happy, not fake happy. There were no slide shows at lunch, no stories about the couple, no long speeches about the couple, no loud music. The Daughter and Her Husband made it all about the guests instead. Each guest received a special handwritten card detailing some salient characteristics about the person. See below M's card, The Husband's card, The Son's card, and mine.

The lunch was supposed to end at 3 pm. When 3 pm came and The Son-in-Law announced that the lunch was ended, nobody got up to leave. They were all having too much fun chilling with their friends at the tables. Apparently, when they were chased out at 5 pm, some folks adjourned to the married couple's apartment to continue to hang out.

This made me glad that I had decided to go completely hands off the wedding. I left it entirely to the couple, and contented myself with giving praise for all their decisions and their choices. The wedding was not just a happy occasion for the couple, it was memorable for the guests who really spent an enjoyable afternoon hanging out with folks they truly love.

Then, from one day to the next, I woke up and realised that The Daughter was well and truly gone from my home. The Daughter had often spent months abroad but we knew that this was her home. Her things stayed in her room. Now, all her things are gone. The room is empty. Her presence at home has left. A spark of joy has left.

However, I look forwards to her bringing home new sparks of joy (i.e., babies) for visits. Wow! It won't be long before I am a Grandma!!