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Romance blooms among the young

Date published: 6/5/2005

YES, WE SURVIVED! Readers may recall my description of May, the mother of all months, in my last column. Our daughter graduated from college May 7, she got married two weeks later, and my first book, "Bloody Point," was released.

All good things, and all stressful. But everything went well--the graduation was held on a bright, sunny day, the speaker knew how to be pithy and short, the wedding was fantastic (another gorgeous day!), and the book is doing well. And if my sailor husband noticed that all those beautiful days he spent sitting in bleachers and pews were also perfect days to be out on the water, well, he was too polite to mention it. (Note to son and younger daughter: May is the perfect sailing month. Choose June for a wedding. Better yet, the doldrums of August.)

Four years ago, we cast our daughter Becky out onto the waters at Christopher Newport University. Of course she's been back, and occasionally we've met some of her friends, but for the wedding, she arrived home with a whole school of them--bridesmaids, groomsmen, and significant others. Young people, so fresh and full of life, so excited by the future unfolding before them, are so invigorating. I loved being around them, listening to them and watching their reactions, gently probing their thoughts and feelings.

One thing I noticed: My daughter's friends are romantic! There were plenty of well-placed tender moments in the festivities preceding The Big Day. And immediately after the ceremony, the bride and groom and the rest of the wedding party exited the church and circled back around to the fellowship hall. I scooted back there, too, and heard the groomsmen high-fiving the groom. "Way to go, man!" "Hey, yeah, man, marriage rocks!"

What, no quips about the old "ball and chain"? No condolences or marriage put-downs? Instead, these young men, some of whom have already taken the trip to the altar themselves, were excited and encouraging.

Date published: 6/5/2005