A Daddy and His Daughter

I remember when each of my children were born. I can recount every detail and those are some of the happiest days of my life. When my oldest son was born it was overwhelming to be a first time dad. The older her grew, the more I enjoyed playing with my little man cub. I was young, but I thought I was getting the hang of this parenting thing. All that changed April 5, 2005 when I held my daughter in my arms for the first time.

Nothing on this planet could have prepared me for this princess who would steal my heart. I have watched her grow over the last 8 years and a special bond has developed. I have 3 boys, and I love my children equally, but there is something special about a daddy and his daughter.

I find myself continually bewildered by this complex and unpredictable human. I look at my sons and I can tell you what they are thinking. I look at my daughter and then go ask Heather for help. She proudly proclaims that she is “part girly-girly and part tomboy” and is determined she is going to be the first child in the family to shoot a deer. She loves American Girl dolls and watching the Avengers. She wants me to scratch her back for hours, but joins right in with her brothers during wrestle time.

I work incredibly hard at my relationship with my daughter. I want to be the type of dad that she runs to and not from. I want to be a rock that she can lean on and be there for her. Most important, I want to be a Godly dad to my daughter that teaches her a young woman should be treated with respect and honor. I make time for her. I have learned that my daughter craves my attention and sometimes sitting in her room for an hour listening to her talk about all the things an 8 year old talks about means the world to her.

I will admit that I am a protective father with old school values. And you want to know something, I am OK with that. I look around at the new school with its teen mom reality shows, Victoria’s Secret new Bright Young Things lingerie line FOR TWEENS (want to see me on a rampage, ask my opinion of this stupidity), declining morality and I want nothing to do with it.

I want my daughter raised in a home where virginity is prized and not mocked. I want to raise her to become a confident young woman that pursues her God given destiny. I want her to know that she is more than just a prize for some future man’s conquest. I want my daughter to have the self confidence to demand respect from every man she meets for the rest of her life.

I know, this may sound like a wish list, but my wife and I work very hard ever day to make all these things happen. We stick to our values now while she is 8, laying the foundation for her values when she is a teen. I encourage my daughter to grow and become the lady that God created her to be, and not try to conform to society or anyone else’s preconceived ideas. We build her confidence now, so that she will refuse to change to please some future man.

We are going to make mistakes along the way and I am sure the protective dad in me will embarrass my daughter all throughout her teenage years. I am perfectly OK with that. My daughter went through a phase where she thought it was cute to backtalk Heather and myself. The eyes rolled, the shoulders sighed and the feet started stomping.

I sat my daughter down just the two of us and had a talk. I told her that I love her with all my heart, so much that I was willing to be her dad and not her friend. I am willing to be the bad guy for a moment if it means correcting my daughter. I will stand my ground on the principals I believe in and raise my daughter to become a Godly young lady.

I do not take my role in her life lightly. I know I have one chance in this life to do things right. There are no do-0vers. I have this little princess in my life that melts my heart. I owe it to her to be the best dad in the world because she deserves the best.

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