daughter , a bride?

A friend of ours called up last night suggesting a prospective groom for our girl!It was too sudden and jolted me and shook me up.It is a defining moment in a parent's life when the girl who was prancing about not so long ago(though you had every indication that she is having a mind of her own!)has arrived as a prospective bride.I would say this is a more defining moment than spotting a streak of grey hair and pretending it is the glare of the mirror that makes it grey!!
The call came to her father and that made it all the more sudden.She is too young for marriage,really.You remember the girl as a child entering school not so long ago.The house became suddenly quiet and different.Yeah,one did enjoy the breather as life had become endless with 24 hours rolling one over the other with no distinction between night and day.Then she wants you in school with hot and fresh lunch dubba whenever you can.But then before long,she is in her ninth standard and could not be seen with mommy.she will dutifully invite you for her annual day function but wish you to come but dont want to be near you.A bright hai from a distance and one has to get used to this for the next few years.Then the endless arguments about i am old enough to take care of my life(that she can't get her school books in place in the mornings is not relevant now).Time is spent between tv,computer and endless chatter on the phone.When you ask who was it and what is the news, you get an answer which defies logic."nothing"Very profound ,right.
Then college and she is really becoming an adult,you can feel it suddenly hitting you.she has an opinion on everything, and usually opposite to yours.She has also suddenly become very close to you as a person who understands you.You share a bond.The power shifts inexorably,imperceptibly.From the child seeking you out, you ar seeking her out.You feel incomplete without her person,and you reach out through all the mediums available today.
And while you are still struggling to cope with the changes, now this call. Adaptation has to be taken to a next higher level.