I’m laying here waiting for my little girl to drift away to dreamland. One of us, my wife or I, always has to stay in the bedroom to keep our daughter company till she falls asleep. Even now at 5 years old we still do it, especially when she had a particularly bad day.
I know some people will say that we baby her to much or why don’t we put our foot down but I don’t care. She is only our baby girl for so long. She’s already graduated to big sister of 3. She’ll always be my baby but she won’t always need her daddy.
I’ve heard people say it time and time again. There will be a time when she won’t need her daddy. You will never understand what fear that brings till you’re a father, especially to a little girl.
Those eyes that look up at you knowing you’ll always be there to protect them. I never knew a look from the most innocent eyes, untarnished by the hatred in this world, could grasp you so strongly by the heart.
Remember those moments. That innocence won’t always be there. I’m sure that look will change through life’s experiences. That first broken heart, that first experience of the loss of a loved one, that first time they don’t make the cut of the play or a team, all those experiences will mold them to whom they will become but it also chips away at your little girls innocence, a double edged sword.
So enjoy every hug, listen to them breath as they dream, enjoy the “Daddy play with me”, enjoy every moment that makes each day a challenge. Enjoy the moment they make you a birthday cake with no bowl, in the living room on the carpet. Enjoy the terrible two battles that last until they are 6. Every fight to eat there food, every bedtime story when you‘re so tired you could cry. I write this as a reminder to you and to myself that every day is just a blip in our existence make it count.
