A Marriage Made In . . . DNA ?

In recent years, geneticists have discovered that some people are actually born happy. Fortuitously, they possess the “happy gene” which makes their frontal lobe a little more colorful than their melancholy counterpart. In May, our only daughter announced that she and her fiance had decided to get married…in May, as in the that very same month. In addition, neither one of them had any desire to have a formal wedding, but rather would like to celebrate their nuptials with an extensive honeymoon in Europe. What would be incredibly unthinkable to many (especially mother’s of an only daughter) was not only acceptable to us, but actually quite appealing. Which only makes sense because she was the offspring of parents who also chose to go the “no-frills-wedding” route. Her father and I got married two weeks after his “so…ya, wanna get married..like in two weeks..” proposal. Our marriage license required the signature of both our fathers because we were only 20 years old!

Now, a funny thing (well, more accurately) a discovery happened on the way to toast the courthouse newlyweds. As my husband and I discussed our daughter’s choice to say “I do” in front of a Justice of the Peace, we reminisced about our own wedding day, which of course was the best day of both our lives. I said, “you know, my mom and dad got married at the courthouse.” He gasped. “NO friggin way, you never told me that before!” My mom and dad had divorced when I was young, so I guess I never really filled in that blank. “You realize how bizarre this is…remember, my mom and dad did not have a big wedding, and also got married at the courthouse” he said. “So weird, I agreed, must be something in our DNA!”

Seven months later after our daughter and son-in-law returned from their honeymoon, we were invited to Thanksgiving dinner with our  daughter’s new in-laws. After an amazing meal, topped off with a few glasses of wine, pumpkin pie and football…it happened. Our “must be a gene” theory, came full circle. Turns out, the parent’s of the groom also handed down the “no-frills” gene. Out of the blue, one afternoon in the midst of their short romance, he called her on the phone and asked her if she wanted to get married…today. She said yes, so they drove to the Justice of the Peace and sealed the deal. This year they will be celebrating their “25th” wedding anniversary in Vegas !

No wedding bells or bouquets, but at the end of the day . . . our beloved “always practical” daughter had found her “perfectly practical” prince, which was not only meant to be..but already mapped out in their “no frills” DNA. Now we can only hope they both have the everlasting love gene.