Last night my daughter Bess told me that today, August 20^th was the 10^th anniversary of her first date with her husband Travis.  TEN YEARS!  Where did the time go? 

Four years after that first date they were married.  And four and a half years after that our family was blessed with Anna Grace. 

All of that started with a date at The Milwaukee County Zoo…and I thought Travis didn’t have a chance…boy was I wrong.

When it comes to being wrong, I am legendary.  If there was a Hall of Fame for being wrong I would certainly be inducted.  But let me explain why I was wrong about Travis “not having a chance”…

Back in 1999 Travis and I worked together and he was the young know-it-all computer guy.  Bess was working as a college intern during summers there, too.  I noticed some flirting and playful conversations but I thought Bess was just being polite – she would NEVER be attracted to a “computer geek” AND to top it off, he was taking her on a date to the zoo – bad choice.  Bess is not a fan of zoos (I might be responsible for that – zoos stink and they’re usually hot and full of sweaty people – gross!).  I remember Bess’s friend Kristy and me laughing about poor Travis not having a chance for a second date (so for the record Kristy was wrong, too).

What I didn’t know then was who Travis really was.  Seeing Bess and Travis together was surprising at first because I had never considered the possibility that they would be so compatible.  But as their love for one another grew so did my realization that I was dead wrong (once again) about him and about his chances with my daughter. 

Today I can tell you that not only is Travis a good husband and father, but he is a good man.  And I love him, too.  He is exactly the kind of husband I want for my daughter and he is exactly the kind of father I want for my granddaughter.  Plus he is my friend and my son-in-law AND in that order.  I couldn’t imagine life without him and all of the blessings he has brought to our family. 

So there are two morals to my story: 

First of all – Parents, cool it!  If your son or daughter is dating someone that YOU would not choose for them remember that you raised them to be intelligent, loving and independent.  They probably know more about the person that they are dating than you can see or understand. 

Secondly – Don’t a judge the book by its cover.  Remember you were probably somebody that once scared your future in-laws, too. 

I thank God everyday that I was so wrong!