Life is Weird

My recently-graduated-from-college 2nd daughter just officially got engaged. She and her betrothed met at school on the other side of the state (4‐5 hours away) but he and his family live only 1½ hours away from us; we’ve been to his parents’ house and his parents have been to our house. His parents already seem like my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, which feels odd since my mother and my mother-in-law first met on my wedding day and hardly ever saw each other.

When I left home at seventeen, I did not even consider staying close to home—or returning close to home or even living near any of my siblings; it wasn’t until 8‐10 years later, after I’d become a father, that I realized the, um, shall we say, babysitting benefits of living close to family members; I’d be willing to bet that my daughter and her future family will live at least somewhat close to one set of in-laws. What’s more, in this age of e-mail and Facebook, it’s comforting to know that my daughter should also be able to stay in touch with friends from school—something else that at her age I hadn’t really considered important.

Aw, well; at least I can take some comfort from the fact that my daughter does not seem to be repeating all my mistakes.

Best wishes to her.