My Daughter
Every day when I come home from work I am greeted with a big smile, a hug and the words “Da Da.”
I change from my work clothes into something more comfortable and go sit down on the couch. Within a moment of my sitting down my baby girl walks over and crawls into my lap.
Tonight I sent her mother out with the girls and the children and I had an evening together. We read some stories and did what daddys and kids do. The kitchen is a mess and the house is a wreck but it was fun.
That sweet little girl has a cough and a cold. Tonight she fell asleep lying across my chest, her head on my shoulder. Listening to a tiny snore I couldn’t stop smiling. As she lay there sleeping there was a commercial in which a father gave his daughter away at a wedding.
It must have caught my attention because my son asked me why I looked so sad. She is only 17 months so there are years and years to go before she gets married but for a moment I was sad. For a moment it was hard to think that at some point in time my little girl would have another man in her life. I am not ready.
But like I said I have a good long time before I have to worry about that happening.
Jack's Shack December 23, 2005 at 11:47 pm
GL,
It is hard not to picture them like that.
GoldaLeah December 23, 2005 at 5:46 pm
That commercial (Bank of America) always makes me cry. I know. I’m a sucker. (It hasn’t, though, made me run out and get a Bank of America card.)
Our daughter is two-and-a-half. She’s just started being really into princesses, “into” meaning she has to wear a tutu to leave the house. Yesterday my husband came home and she nearly tackled him with hugs and kisses, then told him they needed to dance. “You’re my prince!” she exclaimed. Then she stood on his feet and twirled and twirled. All I could picture was the wedding dance years in the future. Then I called my own dad.
Jack's Shack December 23, 2005 at 6:09 am
Hi David,
That sounds familiar, I know all too well the 4 year-old mindset.
Hi Barbara,
I am learning that.
Debka,
That is good to hear.
Ezzie,
Don’t tell anyone, it will ruin my reputation. 😉
Janet,
I don’t see how a father ever loses that protective feeling for his daughter/children.
EK,
Life is too short to give away time.
Ezer K'negdo December 23, 2005 at 4:36 am
Very Sweet – Mine are getting big all too quickly as well. Glad you are able to live in the moment with them and enjoy them, instead of working yourself to death and missing their childhood. You must be a special Dad.
Janet December 23, 2005 at 3:04 am
My dad still gets mad at the idea of this and I’m 28 so no, it doesn’t sound strange to me at all.:)
Ezzie December 23, 2005 at 1:49 am
Cute and heartwarming. 🙂
debka_notion December 23, 2005 at 1:29 am
For your reassurance, I’m 21, and I still cuddle with my parents when I’m home. And while I”m not married, I do have a serious boyfriend… SO there’s hope in the cuddling dimension.
BarbaraFromCalifornia December 22, 2005 at 7:37 pm
How sweet. Yes, during each phase of our children’s lives, our roles change as well. Not necessarily for the worse nor for the better, but they are different.
Soccer Dad December 22, 2005 at 4:54 pm
I have a(n almost) 15 year old daughter. And I’ve decided on a way to solve the problem you’re facing. She’s not going to date. There will never be a young man good enough for her. That’s that.
See that was easy 🙂
My 4 year old seems to have a lingering earache. When that happens she either comes up to our room or I go down to hers and sleep on the floor. Last night it was the latter.
I got down there about 3:30 and fell asleep. At 4 she woke me up again and was arranging her blanket on the floor so she could sleep next to me and wanted a drink or something. I don’t think that the antibiotics are working!
Jack's Shack December 22, 2005 at 2:17 pm
Prag,
That is what I hear and see.
Jameel,
Five months?They are so small then.
BF,
Time does fly too quickly.
Mirty,
Statcounter shows:
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IP: 217.208.192.64
Someone is not playing nicely.
17 years old sounds so frightening to me, oy vey.
Mirty December 22, 2005 at 1:29 pm
I wonder how the spam got in there? (I’m sure you’ll remove it soon.)
Lovely post. My husband heard the song “Edge of 17” (Stevie Nicks) on the radio one day recently and freaked out, realizing his daughter is now 17 and is “on the edge” of falling in love and all that stuff… Scary time for Daddy.
Enjoy 17 months. 17 years, quite a different story. (You’ll love her just as much, but she’ll be harder to cuddle.)
bornfool December 22, 2005 at 1:29 pm
Sweet post. Sadly, those years are going to fly by. I know. My daughter is 18 now.
It seems you’ve been attacked by the infamous porn-spammer.
Jameel December 22, 2005 at 11:28 am
I had the exact same feeling last night while holding my 5 month old daughter.
Pragmatician December 22, 2005 at 9:56 am
Cute post. It’s a known fear of fathers, yet many girls keep a special relationship with their fathers even after the wedding.In a way it can be even more intense.