So who is good enough for your only daughter?

The question only came up because of a very new experience for me. My daughter has made a new friend; a very eligible, pleasant young man from an exceedingly good family. He is older, wiser and more thoughtful than she is. Maturity and wisdom, I think. Good qualities in a ten-year-old. He is an energetic and fun loving young man, but not wild and indisciplined.

Of course, if this were serious, the boy in question would run a mile. Girlfriends just aren’t suitable things to consider when you’re 10. I mean – they’re girls! Get a life!

Meanwhile, Little Madam is aware that S is a boy but she doesn’t entertain prejudice of any kind. She regards it as a disability that S has learned to live with, and it would be inappropriate for her to make an issue of it. And if daddy knows what is good for him, he won’t make an issue of it either.

But Little Madam and S had a fantastic time together at a meeting for families of children with Autism and Asperger’s. Looking at the photos, and seeing their delightful faces, something obviously clicked.

As a dad, there is an exquisite joy, an unbearable agony, in seeing your daughter find a life that you will never be a part of.

Go, girl.