The Bouquet

It's hard being single. I know. I was single once. Two of my closest friends got married in subsequent years. They bought houses. They had and are having children. Within a family, it is sometimes difficult to be the only unmarried child, especially when your siblings are getting married at a rapid-fire rate.

I witnessed the pressure of being an unmarried sibling at the recent wedding of my wife's best friend. The groom's father, an imposing figure, is a decorated ex-military figure. Strongly built, he was clad in a blue dress uniform. Holding his cap under his arm, he took his position outside of the dance floor for the traditional bouquet toss. His oldest, unmarried daughter was one of the bridesmaids. She walked to the middle of the gaggle of single women on the dancefloor.

The married bride carried her flowers to the throwing position, smiled and turned her back to the single crowd. A moment of silence fell upon the room as everyone waited breathlessly for the bouquet toss. A booming voice broke the silence; it was the military dad. Channeling the energy of his drill seargent days--he barked at his eldest daughter: "Dixie, you better work hard!"

Man oh man. Elinor Dashwood and Elizabeth Bennett had it easy.