In his book, She Still Calls Me Daddy, Robert Wolgemuth takes on the vital issue of building a new relationship (different) with your daughter AFTER she walks down the aisle. Wolgemuth dedicates this book to his two sons-in-law after thanking them for still allowing him to be involved in their life. Right away you are reminded of how vital this "new season" of relationship is to a newly married woman. This daughter no longer looking to be led by her father, instead her husband, but still appreciating this vital relationship with her daddy to be healthy and growing. Wolgemuth takes the 7 things that he believes every father should provide for a daughter, and gives them a fresh look as a father provides these to his now married daughter living along new leadership. Wolgemuth suggests the 7 things are: Protection, Conversation, Affection, Discipline, Laughter, Faith, and Conduct. One of the most important chapters is chapter 3, in which Wolgemuth suggests that a vital role of a father is to safeguard his daughter's marriage. In other words, looking for ways to help her marriage work rather than trying to get in the middle of it or tearing it down. I am so thankful for my own father-in-law who helps encourage my marriage with his daughter so well! A new marriage, Wolgemuth writes has to be "released from the familiar and set free to establish their own normals". In chapter 6, Discipline-the art of letting go, he writes, we can "either evaluate or we (can) celebrate, if we choose to stand back, fold our arms, and evaluate our grown kids, we'll live in constant frustration over our inability to change them." I think that Wolgemuth is correct when saying that letting go is a lost art in parenting and is one of the biggest frustrations of young marriages. This is pretty good resource especially for those in the empty nest season of life.
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