Dear Mr. and Mrs. Nielsen,
I haven't known you for very long, but I feel I already know a lot about you both by
getting to know your daughter. She's told me about you, and I can also see what must be
some of your character in her: strong, honest, hard working, good-hearted, and beautiful.
It's her character, among other things, that has caused me to fall in love with her. I know
you both have loved her since she was born, and now I have come to know and love her
as well.
It may seem old-fashioned to ask parents for permission to marry their daughter. Perhaps
it is. What I would like to ask, then, is if you would give us your blessing to marry, which
we would be greatly honoured to receive.
I hope, in the years to come, that we become closer, and that I may be privileged to call
you my second mother and father.
Tim Dixon
Kære Hr. og fru Nielsen,
Jeg har ikke kendt dig i meget lang tid, men jeg føler, jeg allerede ved en masse om dig
både ved at få at vide, din datter. Hun har fortalt mig om dig, og jeg kan også se, hvad
der må være noget af din karakter i hende: stærk, ærlig, hårdtarbejdende, godhjertet og
smuk.
Det er hendes karakter, blandt andet, der har forårsaget mig til at forelske sig i hende. Jeg
ved, du både har elsket hende siden hun blev født, og nu har jeg kommet til at kende og
elske hende så godt.
Det kan synes gammeldags at bede forældre om lov til at gifte sig med deres datter.
Måske er det. Hvad jeg vil gerne spørge, altså hvis du vil give os din velsignelse til at gifte
sig, som vi ville være meget beærede over at modtage.
Jeg håber, i de kommende år, at vi bliver tættere, og at jeg kan være heldig at kalde dig
min anden mor og far.
Tim Dixon
(In honour of Debbie's father Niels' heritage, I translated the letter into Danish as well. Thank you, Google Translate.) There were wide smiles and tears of joy in the Nielsen household that day, and we received their blessing.
The wedding
So, when's the big day? We're looking at March, in Edmonton, details to come. In the meantime, I'll be moving to Nanaimo in November, and living in a little "bachelor pad" in Debbie's house that will serve as a beach-head of sorts for incorporating the rest of my belongings later.
I'm looking forward to spending my first Christmas in many years on the west coast, and celebrating with Debbie the gift that has come into our lives.