Last weekend a wedding shower brought my wife and me to Seattle. The wedding, coming Memorial-Day weekend, might be less memorable perhaps — not that we are not looking forward to our son and his fiancée's wedding.

It's just that Saturday night we had a special evening, a feast hosted by long-time friends of our future in-laws. The memorable image of the enduring love among couples there we might someday recall as the presence in microcosm of the wedding itself.

Here's what we found ourselves writing to the feted couple:

Our best to you for the joy you have brought us both, a joy so obviously shared by the new friends you have also taught us to value. Our best today and for the long future.

     Mom and Dad

What I think we really meant to say was better marked in Hilaire Belloc's famous "Dedicatory Ode":

From quiet homes and first beginning,
Out to the undiscovered ends,
There's nothing worth the wear of winning,
But laughter and the love of friends.

We think all might be glad to learn today that the pair have just bought their first home. May friends and family fill it now with love and laughter.

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