It's true.

My dad is engaged. After 11 and a half years of living the single life, my dad has found someone. Mind you, this woman was not a part of his life when he was here visiting at Christmas. That's how fast the progression has been.

She's not an unknown in his life. Actually, she grew up in Roy as a neighbor of my mother's family. They were friends growing up, went to the same ward, and were even roommates at college while they were attending Dixie. That's when my dad met her--while he was also in school at Dixie and dating my mom.

As far as I can gather from all of the scattered details of the story, when my dad got to St. George, he went over to visit my Uncle Stan and Aunt Sally. While they were chatting, Stan mentioned Bev (the fiance) just kind of in passing as they were talking about St. George back in the day. My dad remembered her and thought it would be nice to reconnect, so he somehow tracked her down. She is currently living in Bountiful with a daughter and son-in-law helping to care for a disabled child they have. After numerous conversations by phone and email, the two started talking marriage even before they had met in person again. My dad headed to Salt Lake a few days before Valentine's so they could spend the week together reconnecting and seeing if it all could really work. After two days together they were ring shopping and on Valentine's Day he proposed.

It's a little fast, but my dad says it's different when you are single and his age. Okay. They seem to be happy according to my three sisters who spent a little time with them in Utah. In my mind it will be good for him to have someone and especially good to know that he will have someone to care for him. It's a little nerve wracking for us as his children to have him be such a significant distance from any of us that if his health takes a turn for the worse, it isn't easy to handle. Now he'll have that.

They don't have a date yet. She has six kids from a precious marriage, my dad has seven, and she will have to have a cancellation of her previous sealing if they want to be sealed in the temple. I think they will probably be married civilly first. But they plan to be married in St. George.

I'm happy for him and am not bothered by him being remarried. He needs to be happy, and now that he has some financial security, taking a step like this is a reality. I don't imagine I will ever think of her as a stepmom simply because she won't ever be in any kind of motherly role to me, but she will be my dad's wife. Good for him!