Uh, oh. I’m thinking like a legislator. – SCN Encourager 5/19/2014

And it’s not winning me any points at home.

At our Easter brunch, my middle daughter Amy and her boyfriend Ken announced their engagement. (Naturally, I had to tell you about it in the Encourager the following Monday.)

You were all good sports about it and I received many nice responses.

In fact, the “fathers with daughters” network is much bigger than I imagined. For years, I thought I was the only clueless bozo out there… so it was comforting to discover that there’ are many other dads like me;  consistently a day late and a dollar short, ever so yesterday, and perpetually over-ruled on big decisions.

This week Amy and Ken came to tell Cindy and me that they had set a May, 2015 wedding date.

We’re excited! At first, though, I thought they had quit their regular jobs to enjoy life as free-lancing gypsies because (since Easter) it seems all they have been doing 24/7 is visiting venues for the reception and working out budgets.

I had to give the kids kudos. They really did their homework. Seeing their price quotes and the checklist of comparative benefits offered by each venue was impressive. I’ve seen an elementary school closed permanently on less data.

When I saw the wild range of costs, I asked Amy about this.

Of course, as a seasoned school communicator, I eased into this with considerable diplomacy, “Hey, Amos. Not that I care about the money, but I’m curious. How come the exact same venue has different costs? I don’t get it.”

She was happy to set me straight.

“It all depends on whether you plan your reception for a Friday night or a Saturday, Dad,” she explained. “Fridays are cheaper than Saturdays.”

This got me thinking.

And given our collective experience with our legislators at the State Capitol, it was relatively easy for me to concoct and innovative and cost-effective proposal to present to Amy, Ken, and Cindy.

And crafting this proposal was actually surprisingly easy since I knew absolutely nothing about the topic – wedding planning.

“Hey, Amos,” I said. “I think the wise and prudent way to go for you and Ken is to plan a Tuesday or Wednesday night wedding. You’d save money and you wouldn’t have to compete with all other couples who are reserving reserving dates. Whatcha think?”

Ken didn’t say a word… but he’s kind of on the quiet side by nature, so I couldn’t tell his reaction. (My hope is that someday he’ll be brave enough to speak up and help amplify the male voice in the Page household.)

But I’ve got to give Amy some credit.

At least she didn’t reject my proposal as quickly as Cindy.

Wow, that happened fast!