The Moment

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.