The Fat Man family is preparing to leave on a jet plane. We are going to the wedding of oldest daughter Fat Man and soon to be only son Fat Man. People keep asking me if I am excited, and I keep telling them “not really”. Being the pragmatist that I am, I cannot help but feel a fair amount of trepidation for these two fine young people. In very short order, son Fat Man is going to get a crash course in the Mrs. Fat Man school of reading between the lines. Mrs. Fat Man can read between the lines better than any other person I ever knew. Why she can read things between the lines that I didn’t even know I was saying. And as it turns out, eldest daughter Fat Man has also become an expert in the skill. So, very soon, son FM is going to be “REALLY” saying things that he really ought not to be saying. Not to mention that he has to learn how to properly install toilet paper, remember to put the toilet seat down, and not leave his underwear on the floor. He gets to listen to me preach to him about providing safety and comfort for his wife. He gets to learn how to protect her from strangers, and parents, and her own children who are being unkind to her. Likewise, she gets to learn about respecting her husband, and that small words can hurt a big man. She will have to realize that her opinion is not the only one that matters. And she will come to realize that her new husband is not the same man that her Dad is. In many ways he is better, and in many ways he is not. But he doesn’t have to be either, because he is a different man, so she has to learn not to compare them. Then comes differences over money, movies, food preferences, child rearing, and every other issue married people have to work out. On the other hand, I also feel joy for them. They will always have a date to the Christmas party, someone to talk to at night, someone with whom they can share their fears and celebrate victories. A help mate to raise children, clean the yard, carry in a new couch, and scratch that itch in the middle of their back. They both have a love for cats and dogs, eating out, visiting family, and Jesus. And I am also VERY, VERY happy that neither of them has to be lonely anymore. I’ve been married to Mrs. Fat Man for 26 years this month. We have had a lot of ups and downs. But the ups just seem to outweigh the downs at every turn. I imagine it will be the same for them. So I guess I am excited for them……………..and did I mention that they don’t have to be lonely anymore.
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