A month and counting to Younger Daughter's wedding

One month from today, on June 9, I will walk my other daughter down the aisle and give her away in marriage to Olaf.

Well, I'll try to give her away; actually, instead of getting her out of the house, I'm getting her and Olaf back, at least for the summer.

This will almost certainly extend into the fall, however Olaf fares on his actuarial exam, and even if he secures gainful employment -- after all, my first grandchild is due in early October and I don't think Long Suffering Spouse is going to let them go before that happens. She'll have her excuses (they need to save up for a security deposit, Younger Daughter shouldn't be lifting anything heavy at this point) but I think we can all see through these, can't we? (I imagine Olaf's mother sitting in her west suburban home fuming at all of this -- muttering I didn't even get to put a bid in on this! Somehow I think we may see more of Olaf's parents this year than one ordinarily sees of one's in-laws.)

There will, however, be one time when Long Suffering Spouse will insist on no inter-generational togetherness: "The kids are not coming back here on their wedding night," she's told me.

My wife has delegated to some of the older kids the task of finding a suitable weekend getaway site. Older Daughter volunteered to pitch in; she and Hank have taken a number of vacations since they've married and she is, if she does say so herself, pretty good at finding bargains on the travel sites.

Indeed, Older Daughter was bragging on her prowess in this regard in a recent conversation with Oldest Son. He listened patiently, waiting for her to wind down.

"I think I can get it for them for free," he told her. (Apparently he's got some huge stash of convertible miles or points or something through his work.)

"Oh," said Older Daughter. "You win."

She wasn't very happy. Sibling rivalry never really ends; only the areas of competition change.