A bucket list day for me and ‘my little girl’

What a memorable day!
Paula and I ventured to the Caribbean last week to celebrate with our oldest daughter Robyn as she and her new husband, Steve Spangler, shared their wedding vows. It was “bucket list” material, to be sure, a series of moments I knew as the day unfolded that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
I’ve been looking forward to the day itself since Robyn said “yes” on another bucket list day last year in Texas, though when July 22 finally arrived I found myself daydreaming. It wasn’t the beach, or the rum, or the waves off the Dominican Republic coastline that had my mind wandering, but rather 33 years of life for Robyn Alicia, who in my mind’s eye will always be “my little girl.”
As her father, one of my life’s joys has been to watch Robyn grow with such confidence over the years, mixed in with a few teary transitions. She has always had a sense of self, and once she set her mind to something she was all in.
I distinctly remember, for example, when Robyn came to me one day in college and declared, “Dad, I’ve decided what I want to be when I grow up,” first describing to me the world of integrative/functional medicine. I still don’t fully understand all the nuances of her practice as an online dietician, but it makes me so proud to know that she’s helping others feel good in her own way.
She’d found her life’s calling, and she knew it!
A few years later Paula and I began to hear about a special someone in Robyn’s life. We first met Steve in 2017 and it has been a joy to watch them grow together, sharing their passion for health, food, fitness, the great outdoors, friends, their beloved golden doodle Daxen, and most importantly, each other.
Our little girl had found her life’s mate, and at some point she just knew it!
And then one day in December of 2019, Steve and I were walking Daxen at a dog park in Oregon when he asked for our blessing to marry Robyn. I was honored to be asked and happily said yes, though I have to admit that at some point I began to wonder if there was a statute of limitations on “hand asking.” I checked with a lawyer friend and there isn’t, I jokingly shared during a brief father-of-the-bride speech, and eventually Steve found a way to create yet another bucket list moment when he invited Paula, Blayke and I to Texas, where he and Daxen popped the question. She said “yes,” of course, which brought a small crowd of family and friends together last week in Punta Cana.
It is meaningful to me that I only met Steve’s father, Scott Spangler, one time before he lost a battle to cancer in February of last year. But on that day in Phoenix, he and I agreed as fathers that these two young people were meant to be together. I am so glad we had that conversation, and I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that he was there that day with Robyn and Steve in spirit, as were many others, past and present, who could not be with us.
My heart was full watching our little girl become a bride. She has given her mother and I so much joy over the years and we are so proud of the young woman she has become.
Welcome to the family, Steve. We love you both!

KURT JOHNSON can be reached at kjohnson@ hamilton.net