Ten years ago we stood atop Burleson Mountain, looking out over Decatur and the Tennessee River as Christen and Hunter prepared to take their vows. How can that have been 10 years ago?
The tent was up, the lights hung, the cakes in place, the platform leveled, chairs arranged and the baby grand tuned. Yes, I said baby grand. My contribution to the ceremony was a song, written to honor the bride and celebrate her transition from daughter to wife and, eventually, mother.
We moved the baby grand from our music room to the venue - not an easy task, but well worth it. We tuned it the next morning and it then provided both the wedding music (courtesy of Tim Hutchison) and the music for "Where's My Little Girl?".
There are moments that stay with you forever. Your own wedding. The birth of your children. Graduations...baptisms...many others. But seeing your kids marry the love of their life is among the most amazing of experiences.
I still remember the day Christen - then only 15 - bopped into the kitchen and proclaimed, "Guess who's dating Hunter Teague???!!!" We didn't have to guess. Her face said it all. Hunter was the dashing high school quarterback. She was the beautiful cheerleader. It was a storybook romance from the start- even if we didn't let her actually "date" until she turned 16.
Hunter was a trooper...hanging around the house watching movies, or following us to Dairy Queen after church. (Yes, we let her ride with him.)
Eventually both graduated from PHS, headed to Auburn, earned their degrees, enjoyed the college life, graduated, got jobs and began their life together on July 23, 2011.
We scoured the country for just the right decor...found old family pictures...settled in on just the right caterer...identified the family's favorite cakes... it was quite the affair.
After Kim and I delivered the final borrowed fern the following evening, we returned home and collapsed onto the couch. Little did we know what the next 10 years would hold. We would welcome four grandkids and a Silver Lab to the mix. (As well as a beautiful daughter-in-law and another grand-dog, But that's another song and another blog post!)
I don't have to ask "Where's My Little Girl" any longer. She's not a little girl. She's a wonderful mom and wife. And the "guy standing on my porch" has grown into an outstanding husband, father and businessman.
So here's to celebrating their first ten years...and looking forward to many, many more to come!
I hope you enjoy it.