There Ya Go
My daughter and her boyfriend, Devin, bought a very nice house a couple years ago. They have not one, but two dogs. And they have a cat. They go on vacations together. Basically, they do everything a married couple does.
Except get married. That is about to change, however. Yes, my daughter is getting married. Finally.
Tara and I often joked about this — when will he propose? Are they ever going to tie the knot? Let’s go, put a ring on it.
The ring is now on it. This past Sunday, Devin did what we have been waiting for him to do, and in a matter of time — no, I have no idea when — she will be married.
Yes, Devin proposed as his family was doing a photo shoot in their hometown of Watertown, SD.
It’s about time, I say. It was getting to the point where I envisioned her walking down the aisle as I got pushed down it in a wheelchair by a flower girl.
Sunday was a weird day for sure. I headed to Watertown near the end of another Vikings’ win, but I had little idea what I would be walking into. That’s why I got there early, but getting there early meant I had time to kill.
So, of course, I seeked out a bar to get my bearings (and have a beer). But I didn’t want to spend the next hour in some corporate bar at Applebee’s or Buffalo Wild Wings; I wanted a dive bar. And I found one called the Gentleman’s Casino — strange name considering there were no gentlemen in sight.
I sat around the bar with Packer fans exercising their vocabulary as their team was choking against the Lions. I’ve never watched a football game on TV with Packer fans, but there’s nothing to be afraid of, they’re just like us — preparing themselves for a letdown while dropping f-bombs left and right.
After that experience, it was time to head to the Pelican Lake Recreation Area where I would eventually track Devin down. He told me to wait about 10 minutes before hiking my way to where the photos were being taken.
I walked through the cold rain, oblivious to where I was going, and eventually found the family — and Devin down on one knee, presenting Olivia her ring. Hugs and kisses ensured, then she freaked out when she saw me walking toward them.
My daughter was engaged. ! These two kids have done things backwards, at least against tradition. Normally, two people meet, fall in love, get married, buy a house, have kids … you get the picture. Not these two; they’ve done everything backwards.
And that’s OK by me. It’s 2026 and kids do things differently today than they did decades ago. Besides, who am I to judge. I’m by no means a marriage expert. I’m really good at divorce, but marriage? Not so much.
This all started for me a few weeks ago when Devin texted me, asking if I would like to go golfing when they came to the area for a baby shower Olivia was to attend for a cousin. The text caught me off guard to say the least. Devin is a very softspoken young man, and he had never — I repeat, never — asked me to hang out in any capacity.
THE AUTHOR’S DAUGHTER, OLIVIA, with her fiancé, Devin, and their two “children,” Ivy and Willow.
When I shared with Tara his text, she knew what was up. I was a bit more apprehensive, but I also had an inkling something was brewing.
So we hit the links. As we got later in our round, I began to think it was just another golf outing — a couple of hackers celebrating those few great shots, the ones that keep you coming back. Then we got to the No. 7 tee box and he told me he wanted to show me something on his phone. It was a picture of the ring.
That’s when it hit me. My little girl will be getting hitched.
Devin and I had a really good talk about their relationship, and we both shared stuff about ourselves. It dawned on both of us that we’re actually cut from the same introverted cloth. We’re both pretty reserved, and neither of us put ourselves out there too much. With that said, I quickly gained some appreciation of how tough it was for him to initiate that conversation.
Then again, I’m pretty easy to talk to, even if you’re someone who is taking the plunge with my little girl — my only child, who I raised as a single dad since she was a baby (my parents helped a lot, too, BTW).
It’s important to note that I’m not one of those fathers who will hover over these two, bothering them over and over about their plans, or even giving them advice as to where or when to get married — at least until asked to do so. I also am not an overlysentimental person like Steve Martin’s character in Father of the Bride. Yes, watching her get married will surely stir some emotions in me, but these impending nuptials are long overdue, so it’s more of a sigh of relief than anything.
I ultimately learned from Devin that one of the reasons it took him so long to propose was because he was saving up money for Olivia’s ring (I don’t even want to know how much that thing cost). That’s commendable, so my future son-in-law is totally forgiven for waiting so long.
Son-in-law. Has a nice ring to it.
