That’s the picture. That’s the moment. I’m walking my
younger daughter down the aisle in the idyllic setting of a Stellenbosch vineyard.
And suddenly it’s very real.
Lois is trying to hold back the tears. We can see Dewaal awaiting
her arrival. The biggest grin.
The picture shows me more stooped shouldered than I would
like. Maybe that’s the price of bringing up four children. And is that grey
hair behind my ears? I had no idea. Well, I don’t look there do I?
But mostly it’s a moment of intense happiness. All the
tension of the days before the wedding dissipates. Friends smile and cheer. Roh
and I say a resounding ‘We do!’ as Greg, the Pastor, asks who gives the bride
away.
But even that’s not strictly true. We don’t lose. We gain.
On the way in to the country, I explained to the South African immigration
officer that I was here for the wedding of my daughter.
‘Congratulations on your new son’ she said.
I didn’t understand.
‘Pardon?’
‘Congratulations. You’re not losing a daughter. You’re
gaining a son!’
Such wisdom from unexpected places.
We have a son. And a wider family. We have smiles and
memories. And we have that picture. That moment.
