 |
|
|
“Oh Dad, you are so stupid“. She says with love and laughter in her large brown eyes, that are temporarily rolling around in their eye sockets.
It is hard being a dad to a teenager, especially when that teenager is a girl.
Things become awkward. The dad that once took his little princess to the park, suddenly becomes a total embarrassment. Kind of like he is wearing a purple t-shirt with green polka dots, short 80’s-style gym shorts (in maroon, of course), block socks, with a sign on his back that says, “I am Sara’s dad”.
Oh, the humiliation.
Hormones change things. When girls start to notice boys, the male figure, that helped to create them, suddenly becomes low on the priority list. Matter of fact, he becomes someone who could just fall of the face of the earth and she would be better off.
No hurt feelings, intended of course. I do believe this is why the father of the bride has such an imperative spot at weddings, he gets to walk his daughter down the aisle and share in her limelight. It is pay-back’s revenge for all those years she tried to avoid being seen in public with him.
Seriously, there is no greater love than what is shared between fathers and daughters. I know it is not always that way. I grieve for those little girls that had no one to call them “princess“. But, thank God, that is the way it is in our household. There is one princess and one “oh Dad” and it makes for a beautiful equation. Yes, despite the occasional bouts of embarrassment when she proclaims, “Mom, can’t you do something with him?”
You should see my husband try to mimic/mock my daughter as she practices cheer jumps or the dance that they do to the school song. The more disgusted she gets, the more goofy he acts. She has learned that dad is quirky and it does not pay to get mad at him. Funny thing is, the more she matures, the more of her dad I see in her. Loyal, loving, determined, highly motivated (as a former Marine, this characteristic is truly genetic in nature) and a quick wit.
Allowing her to practice driving on our gravel road; wearing a ‘cheer dad’ sweatshirt to the home games; going on her school trip to an amusement park and riding all the scary rides with her; telling her how beautiful she is when getting ready for a formal dance; embracing her with a hug that lets her know nothing can harm her; threatening, with bodily harm, the boys that come near the premises…..sometimes, there are some things that only fathers can do.
I mentioned a ‘thank God‘, above, and I don’t say that with a casualness, I say it with all sincerity, that my daughter and my husband share a relationship that is God-inspired. It is the result of calloused knees, from time spent in prayer. It doesn’t come naturally, it comes prayerfully.
To God be the Glory, the best Father of ALL.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
|
|
|
