One of the things I love to do each night is to tuck my baby girl in. She just can't go to bed without me doing it and sometimes I think it's one of her favorite rituals.
I've been doing it since she was small so she is both accustomed to and expects me to tuck her in. In fact, if I haven't tucked her in, she will get out of her bed, come find me and ask me to do it. Tonight, I heard her footsteps coming near me while I was talking to a friend on the phone.
My baby had on my favorite shirt that says "My heart belongs to my daddy."
She came up to me with a needy undertone in her voice.
"Dad, I'm ready to go to bed, could you please come tuck me in?"
I immediately excused myself from the phone and went to give her my kisses and I love yous.
Sometimes I hear pain in her voice, and, even though I don't react angrily to many of the things I hear from her, I pray for my daughter because I know that many times she
gets caught in the middle of this situation. Even at 10, she knows I have her
best interest at heart, so, when she comes to me at night and asks me to tuck
her in, I know that is who she is when she doesn't feel the pressure to be different.
Right then and there I know that she knows I love her, she sees me as her protector
and I know she needs me just as much as I need her to know I would do anything to
keep her from feeling the pain she has to feel when there's a tug-of-war for her affections.
One day, my sister took her to gymnastics for me (she takes her for me on Mondays so she can get there early and I meet them there), and, when I pulled up, my daughter stayed in the car. She turned her head and smiled; then, told my sister "We can just sit here. Don't worry, he's gonna get out and come and open my door." She knows me so well.
Through my actions, I try to help my daughter know how important she is to me. She has to know that a man should earn her affections. I'm trying to set her expectations high. In fact, a man who doesn't show her the love and respect she deserves and can't invest in her doesn't deserve her. I even give her flowers for her birthday and Valentines Day gifts, so that when knuckleheads try to win her over with things, she won't be easily impressed because her dad did it first. I want her to understand that these things should be done unconditionally. They should always be done and, if they're not, something is wrong.
At ten years old, she already knows how valuable she is to me. It is my hope that being a father who loves his daughter and shows her affection will help her become a well-rounded woman who is able to fulfill her purpose and expect the best out of life.
