A Father's Love

• inspired by the song "I'm so happy, I can't stop crying" by Toby Keith

“May I now pronounce you, Man and Wife,” the preacher said without hesitation.  “You may kiss the bride.”

The church, packed with people from front to back, viewed the ceremony after years of anticipation.  Jacob and Shelly had been planning on the wedding for more than a year.  Before that, they had been dating for more than three years.  Much talk around town centered on the topic of when these two would be married.  This conversation was even more prevalent among their closest friends.

The audience all had attended the wedding shower the night before.  The group had gathered at a Hilton in a nearby town and they had shared in a magnificent dinner to celebrate the occasion.  The young and old, from small towns all over the state, shared in the merriments of the wedding.  After the dinner, music played and people danced.  Although neither family was extremely wealthy, they had managed to put together a lavish wedding.

The preacher announced, “You may kiss the bride.”  Shelly’s father let loose the tears that he had been welling up all through the ceremony.  The women, young and old, also passed around handkerchiefs.  The adults in both of the families considered such events to be more just an excuse for festivity, but also events of almost religious magnitude.

The ceremony continued.  The bride and groom walked out the church.  Row by row, the audience followed them out the back door of the church.  After the photos were taken, the bride threw the bouquet and the groom threw the garter belt.

Later that night they were to meet back at the nearby Hilton to share the revelry which is typical after wedding vows.  They hired a DJ and they all danced and listened along with their favorite songs which were specifically chosen for the ceremony.  Along with dinner, much beer, wine, and champagne was served. 

The older guests of the wedding always enjoyed these events that happened every year or two.  It was the first opportunity to experience an occasion such as this for many of the younger people in the audience.  Shelly’s father’s eyes stayed misty through the rest of the event.  The celebrations that incurred at the wedding reception did little to disguise his emotions.

He could remember clearly the day that his daughter had been born.  They had to drive all the way into Atlanta when his wife was ready to give birth.  He stood in the waiting room, patiently anticipating the news from her doctor.  It was to be his first child and the nervousness and anxiety that he felt was palpable.

The doctor entered the room.  “Congratulations, you are now the proud father of a baby girl.”

His eyes remained misty, however, a half-hour later when he was allowed to see his wife and his baby daughter he could not hold back the tears. 

His wife asked, “Would you like to hold your little girl?”  She was wrapped in a pink blanket and, as he cradled her in his arms, tears fell from his eyes.  He knew that the love that he felt for his baby daughter would always be there.  

It was but the beginning of the life of the newborn as it was near the beginning of married life for the young couple.  Their love was strong and as the years past it only grew stronger.  The sentiments of the years created memories and the memories invoked tears.  The family's love matured and evolved into a truly blessed life.  Although it was a simple life, it was that of the most robust emotions of familiar love which endeared them all.