It is absolutely impossible to arrive at this day without feeling nostalgic. When did this happen? How did we get here? I know we didn’t just simply arrive. We ventured through so much to this very moment.
That messy, disheveled, goofy little boy who loved dirt and mud, dinosaurs and bugs, cartoons, and cars, baseball and books, sugar and hot Cheetos, science and space, running and boxing and lazing around enjoying life. My son. The aches, pains and joys of parenting are nothing short of cherished treasures in my heart. But the journey is far too short because when you love something so deep, 25 years isn’t enough. It just doesn’t see fair.
I know the journey with my son is not over. But I also know, from this day forward, the journey, for me, will be very different. Because today is your wedding day. It’s a day of celebration and fun. A day of happy tears and joyful laughter. A day of family and friends. A day of eating and dancing. A day that will never be forgotten. But it’s also a day of letting go. And that, my son, no matter how well you prepare for the moment, is still so hard. Someday, you will arrive to a moment like this and understand all that is behind the smile through the tears.
Your wedding day. I guess I’ve looked forward to this day as much as I’ve dreaded this day, because today, my role in your life changes significantly. See, I understand full-well what the Scriptures mean when they say, “A man will leave his mother….” Aw yes, I understand it with my head, now if someone could kindly explain it to my aching heart.
There are no instruction manuals for most parts of parenting. You try desperately to navigate through unchartered territory successfully. It’s as exciting as it is terrifying. And then you arrive at these bigger moments of parenting wondering how to do it well.
There definitely isn’t a guide on letting your son go. But one day, you wake up and realize, he’s no longer yours, he’s been called to share his life with someone else. A beautiful woman who was purposed for him by our Creator. And ready or not, manual or no manual, it’s here and it is time to let you go.
I’ve loved you for your lifetime. Every first I was there, and it’s been this incredible, wonderful and fun ride. I wouldn’t change a thing, not one bit. I look back on those years of wonder and thank God that He picked me to be your mama.
My middle son; the peacemaker. Happy-go-lucky, life is good and all will work out kinda kid. Tender through and through, a soft-sweet spirit who loves life. Watching you grow-up with all the bumps and bruises, victories and defeats, successes and more successes, heartaches and heartbreaks, to who you are today has been one of the greatest joys of my life. I’m so undeserving for such a huge blessing. Thank you for making my role so easy.
She’s beautiful. She’s kind. She radiates with her every move. She’s the perfect woman to enter your journey and see you to completion. I was there when He, Jesus Christ started an amazing work in you. I had the privilege of guiding you, holding your hand, crying and laughing with you as you learned to walk in faith. But she, will take you to completion.
Your not losing your mama today, your gaining a wife who has promised to love you, honor you, cherish you and be your family. I let you go with peace and confidence. My job is done. And I look at you with pride and think to myself, well done.
But although I let you go, your never far away because my position as always, is in your corner, fighting on my knees with everything in me because you will always be, for better or worse, my son.
I love you Kev Kev…..Happy wedding day.