Arranged Marriages are not such a bad thing

My oldest daughter Regann (pictured above playing with camera and trying on different make up styles) turned 14 a couple of months ago.   This means we are fully involved in stake dances.  She us a social butterfly and always seems to fill the car with 4-5 of her closest friends and I end getting to drive them.  She practices the new line dances all week so they are perfect for the upcoming weekend.   The last dance we attended was no different than any of the others until the girls choice dance.  She asked a young man who shall remain nameless to dance.  He then asked her to dance and so on.  Over the next 4-6 dances they were together. I was sitting on the edge of the dance floor observing this development and getting heckled by a couple of the other parents.  I am wondering what the best approach for this situation would be.  The sisters were saying how cute it was.  The brothers were asking how I felt about her developing such a long term relationship (10 minutes is a long time for a father when his daughter is involved).  And the sisters do not have the point of view that the dads do.  We were 14 year old boy once and know how their minds work.

My daughter is going to start dating in a couple of years and I don’t think I am ready for that to happen.  I remember sitting at my uncles house a couple of years ago.  His youngest daughter was getting married and had her fiancé there.  Several of her brothers were there with their wives and kids.  My uncle said something to the affect that these boys go off go on missions then head off to school.  They bring back these amazing young women and really make them and the family better.  Then my daughters go off and bring back these return missionaries good boys, have goals with their heads screwed on straight but they still are just not quite good enough for my daughters.  Keep in mind he was telling me this with his future son in law sitting at the table with us.  I just thought sucks to be him.  I can now totally see what he was talking about.  I am not nearly as worried about my sons dating as I am about my daughters.  The boys job is to protect and defend the young women they are with.  The young men my daughters dates have the same duty however they are not me.  Times like this, arranged marriages don’t sound like such a bad idea.