Love her. If there is any advice I can give, it is that. Your daughter will learn to love by the love that you show her throughout her life.
When you are in the hospital room and the doctor places her in your arms for the first time, promise to love her with the same love you feel for the woman sitting in the bed next to you, who carried her for nine months, to whom you owe everything for giving you the little bundle of joy you now hold in your arms. She will not stay this small or innocent forever. But hold this memory close to your heart. It will remind you to love her through all that life brings her.
When she comes home from school in the second grade crying that Susie made fun of her haircut, it might seem like a situation for Mom, but even if she doesn't share any detail, throws a fit and slams her bedroom door, love her. Make her favorite meal for dinner, put on her favorite cartoon, let her curl up in your arms and tuck her head in your shoulder and just be there. It will always be enough.
When she brings home a boy for dinner for the first time, shake his hand firmly, be wary of the first man that your daughter will share her heart with besides you. Protect her, but respect the choices she makes and the people she chooses to open herself up to. Love her through every mistake, every wrong person, and she will soon start to turn to you for advice and wisdom. That is when you will get your say.
And when she comes home crying late at night because that boy broke her heart, you must hold back every, “I told you so,” every ounce of fury that makes you want to run out the front door with a bat and give him a piece of your mind and just love her. Hold her close like you did when she was in the second grade, offer wisdom if she asks and show her the kind of man that she should be with. One that loves her unconditionally, that does not break her and will always be there to put her back together.
When your wife starts to drive you crazy, think of your daughter. She will likely become the same woman some day. Show her that you love both of the most important women in your life with your entire being. Support them both through every struggle, every bad day. Be the best man you can be to both of them. Your daughter will learn from the love you show for your family, and that is the love she will mirror for her own life some day.
And when you hold your granddaughter for the first time, look down at her, at your daughter, at your wife and know that the love you have brought to these women will hold them all together. They will always be independent, and it may not always seem like they need you, but they always will. Your love is what has made them the strong women that they are.
Love will always hold you close to the people in your life. It will always be both the hardest and easiest solution to all struggle, all fear and all that life brings.
Love anyways.
Happy Father’s Day to the man who has shown me all of these types of love in every moment of my life. I owe everything I am to you. Thank you for always loving anyways.
