‘You must be very proud.” The kindly, repeatedly proffered observation to the father of a new bride is true, of course. There is nothing like the pride you feel as you watch your brilliant, beautiful daughter confidently take that giant step across the border that separates the banality of carefree youth from the awesome gravity of marriage. But the sentiment doesn’t come close to capturing the intense complexity of emotions that assault the mind on the occasion.
Joy, certainly, at the sight of such pure happiness in your child’s face; a little melancholy, knowing that as the most fruitful phase in her life begins so another in your own comes to an end; gratitude, that the selfless love of her devoted mother produced such a
