Where have all the Moffetts gone?

My oldest little girl, the sweet perfect child that I held, cuddled and protected from all manner of  "bad guys" has grown up.  Thankfully, through divine intervention, she made it through her teenage years (16 and 17), when she was in dire danger of being a "statistic" at the hands of her enraged father.

Cooler heads (and the Good Lord) prevailed, though, and now she's a young lady, a college graduate that's decided to make it her life's vocation to teach children. 

...and now she has informed her Mama and I that she is engaged...

Now, don't get me wrong.  This in itself is a good thing.  Her fiance is a really fine young man, blessed with a good sense of humor and a boundless supply of patience.  I know this because for the last two years he's been roommates with K1 and K2.  Anyone that can live for any length of time with two of the three Moffett girls is a man to be reckoned with.  It'll be nice to have an additional shot of testosterone at family gatherings.

My wife and I are very happy with these recent developments, and are looking forward to the wedding, and to having her permanently off the family payroll.

However, it dawned on me last night that my little girl will soon change her name.  While this doesn't really bother me, it gave me pause to think.

I don't have any brothers, and with my Dad passing away a few years back the Moffett line (Texas branch) is wearing thin.  If K's 2 and 3 marry off then we Texas Moffetts will fade away in a few years.  I  have no doubt that I may have an enemy or two, but not too many, I hope, who may welcome that day.  The Moffett family, North Carolina branch, is still going strong, but we Texas Moffetts are thinning out.

The only hope, here, for carrying on the family name is if my other two girls don't marry (which I hope doesn't happen), or do marry and keep their last name (which I don't necessarily hope for, either). The other options are to adopt a kid, but I'm 47 years old and really don't want to go down the child rearing path again, or to have a grand kid with a given or middle name of "Moffett."

If none of those come to pass then it looks like the clock's running out on the Texas Moffetts.

This is powerful stuff, and is something that no one tells you about when you have all daughters.