Did I already tell you my favorite part of our son’s wedding a weekend ago was the day after? If I did, I didn’t make a big enough deal about it.
The big deal was when the new Mr. and Mrs. Fischer stopped by to pick up a few things they left at our house before starting on their honeymoon, and stayed for a couple hours to download the excitement of the previous few days. For a while there, I was wondering if they were going to invite us to join them on their trip. It actually wouldn’t have surprised me; they’re just that way.
I say this because being with my parents the day after our wedding was the farthest thing from my mind. And I liked my parents; I just never saw us as one big extended family. That’s to my detriment. It’s nice to see now that even though I didn’t experience that with my family, it looks like my kids are going to see that something changes with their generation. I could yet be a true patriarch. I couldn’t be happier. Not that I’ve always wanted this – I don’t think I know what it is – it’s that my first taste of it has left me wanting for more. Maybe the old cliché is true after all: I haven’t lost a son as much as I have gained a daughter.
Mostly this says something about these two and their commitment to family. They didn’t hang with us for a couple hours out of obligation; they did that because they wanted to.
This, and Christopher and Beth’s rather large wedding party, says these two know something about being part of a wider circle. Something I am just beginning to experience.
Let me know if I’m missing something, but I might not be alone here. It might be that my baby boom generation drew the reins tightly around a nuclear family – father… mother… kids… – but the next one may be seeking to throw the net wider. If so, I believe that is closer to the picture the Lord has in mind, which is to put us all into the big family of God.
I know I’m right about this because in googling “family” for an image for this Catch I get four people. If I want a bigger group I need to google “extended family.” “Family” should be extended anyway.
I think my “family” is about to get bigger.
John Fischer The Catch 
You think you family is about to get bigger????? John – don’t you know that your family is ever expanding? By sharing your family with all of us, we became part of your family.. We may not have been there in person for the wedding, but we were there!!
Of course you were. Thank you for the redminder!
My daughter married her partner 2 years ago in May, and I can say that yes, the circle has grown… I am in contact via face book with some of their friends and I can say that I love it!
My other daughter is to be married to her fiance this July, and I can truly say that this experience will be also extremely joyous. You see, this daughter has a way of making friends with every one… we knew that at a young age. We would meet new people at church and we would introduce our daughter and they would say “oh, we’ve already met Julia”. LOL. We come from a community of 5 different cities and a river in between, and I think she knows someone in everyone of those schools… She has had a core set of friends throughout high school and college though, and it has been wonderful to experience those friendships with her, and of course the circle has grown to include her fiances friends. They have recently purchased a home that they will be living in together after they are married, and it’s only 2 miles away – but I know I will miss the impromtu evening gatherings of us, and her friends, the laughing and joking and sharing. So I totally agree, I do believe we are gaining a son and not losing a daughter. And I think we will be the ones crashing thier parties, and I know, that we will be included and never a second thought as to why we are there… I can’t wait! The Lord is so good!
Maybe it’s us, John, and something in our generation. My parents, and my wife’s parents, could hardly wait to move 1000 miles away to Florida for their ‘retirement’ years. We, on the other hand, both took an early retirement from our full-time jobs when we saw that our family was growing, so we could spend time getting to know our new grandkids. I am now, as you say, the ‘patriarch’ of a gang of 18, and we love nothing more than spending time together. Our grown children are our best friends, and our grandchildren are the joy of our lives. And they all know that no matter how precious we believe our relationship is with them, we cherish even more their relationship with Jesus. May God richly bless your growing family, for many years to come.
Beautiful.