One week from today, my wife and I leave to spend a week in Walt Disney World. Usually, that in itself is enough cause for celebration. But this time it is different. While we are looking forward to being in the parks - at least part of the time - another attraction is front and center this time. My daughter is getting married!
Eleven years ago she moved to Central Florida to work in Disney World, so she has had the job of handling almost all of the planning. It will be a small wedding, but it will be a
Disney FairyTale Wedding. They have decided on
Sea Breeze Point at Disney's Boardwalk Resort as the location of the wedding. It's a beautiful outdoor location right on the water, and I definitely can see why they chose this spot. As of today the long range forecast is calling for a sunny day, and while things can change quickly when it comes to the weather, I am looking forward to a perfect day for the ceremony, after all, this is Disney World, isn't it? So we are expecting a lot of Disney magic on that day.
As a dad, of course, I have such mixed feelings going to my daughter's wedding. I have always been "the man in her life", and while I know that our special relationship will not change, her new husband is now going to be the primary man in her life. And, of course, that is how it should be. What makes it special is the man whom she is marrying. Sometimes you meet someone and right away you feel comfortable with them, and her about-to-be husband is one of that type. From the first time I met him, I liked him. I remember being a bit apprehensive as my daughter brought us to meet him for the first time, but within minutes of that initial meeting, it was as if he were an old friend. I couldn't be happier for her.
I suppose the fact that she has lived 1100 miles (that's 1800 km for you metric types) from home for 11 years now, makes the transition easier on us, since she isn't just now moving out of our house. In reality, not much is changing in my wife and my every day lives, but we are adding another member to our sometimes whacky family.
The wedding ceremony will be a beautiful one, and I will be the one you hear sniffling during it. Heck, I have a tear or two falling from my eyes even as I write this - can you imagine how I will be at the wedding itself? I had my mom sniffling in my ear during my wedding ceremony, my daughter will have me. (I guess she now knows where her own propensity to cry comes from.)
I know that I don't say it often enough, but I love her and am so proud of my daughter, and the woman she has
become. I know that this new chapter of her life will be a wonderful
adventure.
