“You know your Daddy Loves you!”

As I get older and watch my children grow I often feel as though I get to know my Father a little bit more. Besides repeating many of the things he said to my sister and me growing up, I believe I have some of the very same feelings as he did towards his children. However, there is one experience that is not shared by my father and me. I have not raised a son.

Like many men, I originally wanted a son. I had thoughts of moments when my son and I would naturally bond. Throwing a baseball, putting shaving cream on his face as I shave, and those first trips to the barber shop are just a few examples of these moments. I came to realize that all of these and more were ahead for me and my daughters. Well probably not the barber shop.

There is something very special about raising girls. They are protective of their fathers. In fact, as I write this I have a slight cough. My youngest daughter who is 2- ½ years old heard me cough from another room and called out “Are you ok Daddy?” Born less than a month before I lost my sight, my youngest and I seem to have a unique connection. Besides her constant mimicking my use of the white cane using her plastic wiffle ball bat, she has an inherent sense for guiding my hand to something she needs that I cannot see. She has been doing this since she was a baby. While she was drinking from a bottle, we developed a system. I would place the bottle near her mouth and she would wrap her tiny little fingers around my thumb and guide the nipple to her mouth. When she stepped up to baby food, she would do the same with the spoonful of apple sauce, peas or my personal favorite plums. If I drop something on the floor and cannot find it, she will stop what she is doing and run from the opposite end of the house to pick it up. Regardless to how much she is ready to go “bye-bye” she will not leave without hugging and kissing her Daddy. The first thing she says when she walks through the door is either “Hi Daddy!” or “Where’s Daddy?”

Nothing will ever beat the feeling of holding my children for the first time. I will never forget when the nurse placed my oldest daughter in my hands and I looked at her precious face. We just stared at one another.   She seemed to know me.  I remember wishing I could talk to my father. He was the only person I thought would appreciate what I felt. Unfortunately, he passed away almost exactly 9 months before my little angel was born.

I often think of how my Dad must have felt about my older sister, his first child and his baby girl. While I know he loved us both and we each were special to him, I often wonder if she realizes what that means. She herself can never feel the love a man has for his daughter. Only giving birth to boys, she does not have the opportunity to watch the natural interaction between a father and daughter.

So this Father’s Day, to my daughter’s and my sister I say
“You know your Daddy Loves you!”