I was a Daddy’s Girl.
I even had the t-shirt should anyone think to question my position!
I knew who I was and my Daddy did too. I knew right where I was supposed to be and how to get there.
My place was next to my Daddy. No matter how old I was, or how old I become, I will always be a Daddy’s girl.
My Dad read to me. He walked with me. He took me everywhere (and I mean everywhere!). He did everything with me. Where Dad went, I went.
When he was racing cars, I was there cheering him on with mum. Whilst he was doing the repairs, I was wearing his helmet.
When he came home from work, I would massage his feet. This has never changed, even though I’m now married and living in another town, whenever Ted and I see Dad, the same lines are spoken…
“Chook, can you rub my feet?” It’s not really a request anymore, but simply a statement confirming the connection and strength of relationship between us.
You see, it’s never really been about what I did or what Dad did, it’s simply about the fact that we did things together.
Dad is an avid, mad keen really, fisherman. As a teen, I couldn’t stand the thought of getting stinky bait on my preciously manicured fingers. Ugh! However, as I grew older, I began to realise that it was something that could easily bring us together – it could solidify our friendship and our relationship as Father and Daughter.
So, I began to go fishing with Dad. As a result, we would talk. Dad would share and so would I. Some of the most in depth and lengthy conversations were had over a fishing line!
My Daddy would always affirm me. I was always beautiful in his eyes. I was always good enough. I was always just right. I was always encouraged to be and to do my best.
And so, as a result, I did.
I learned that it didn’t matter what I looked like, but it was who I was. My character would speak louder than my appearance if my character was strong.
I learned that my self esteem should not come from what others say, but from what I know and believe and from the love of my family.
I learned that as long as I did my best and gave everything that I had to all that I did, then nothing else could be required of me. My best was always good enough to Dad, even if I fell short in my own estimations.
I learned that power was in words and the ability to reason and discuss was important.
I learned that station is of little importance and that people are more than their station in life.
My Dad, as the first and most predominant man in my life, set the pace in my life in so many ways.
My Dad gave me the ability to stand, to think, to express my feelings and thoughts.
My Dad taught me how I should be treated – with dignity, with honour, with respect, with kindness and most of all with love.
My Dad taught me that I was due this treatment because of who I was (and who I am) – his daughter and a woman. He also taught me that to demand these things actually diminishes their truth and their significance.
Dads, you are the first man that your son and your daughter interract with.
You are the one man who can set the pace of how they are to be loved by their future partner.
You are the one man who can set the pace of how they are to love and treat their future partner.
Your children are a direct reflection of you.
Your character, with or without words attached, will speak loudy to your children and they will reflect what they see.
The old adage, ‘do what I say and not what I do’ holds no weight or credibility. Your children want you to say, “Do what I do and say what I say.”
What image are you growing each day in the mirror of your child or your children?
Is it a reflection of a Godly character?
A reflection of integrity?
A passion for the presence of God?
A reflection of a character that will hold them steady through any and every course of life?
Is it a reflection of love?
My Dad set the pace for how I was to be loved and how I was to love.
My life is blessed and full because of the pace that my Dad, the first man in my life, set for me.
Thank you, Dad.
great post