The news about my wife’s pregnancy sent a cold chill down my spine. This was her third pregnancy and the doctor had advised against it as it threatened her life and the baby’s. We weighed our options and decided that abortion was not any of them; faith is all we had. The nine months were not easy; the sleepless nights were uncountable and fear that I would lose my wife anytime made life a living hell. Looking back, I’m glad that we decided to keep it. Our beautiful daughter is in her teenage years now!
For the past sixteen years that I have lived with my daughter, I understand the bond between girls and their fathers. I imagined that parenting would be tough, especially because I grew up in a family of boys. So, what is it like to raise a daughter?
Dad is her Rock.
In a world where everything is constantly changing, we need a constant figure in our lives. To a girl, that describes daddy. She needs someone who won’t let her be alone; someone that’s going to be there when life is going great, and someone who is going to be there for her when life is everything but ideal. Dads don’t give up on their daughters, they never will.
Dad is her Role Model.
If we never had someone to look up to, we would never have someone to strive to be. When you give a little girl someone to look up to, you give her someone to be. We copy their mannerisms, we copy their habits, and we copy their work ethic. Little girls need someone to show them the world, so that they can create their own.
Dad is her First Love.
And I’m not really sure someone will ever be better than him either. He’s the first guy to take your heart, and every person you love after him is just a comparison to his endless, unmatchable love. He shows you your worth, and he shows you how you should be treated like: a princess.
Dad is the Person She wants to make Proud.
After every softball game, soccer tournament, cheerleading competition, etc., you can find every little girl looking up to their dads for their approval. Later in life, they look to their dad with their grades, internships, and little accomplishments. Dads are the reason we try so hard to be the best we can be. Dads raised us to be the very best at whatever we chose to do, and they were there to support you through everything. They are the hardest critics, but they are always your biggest fans.
Dad is her Credit Card.
It’s completely true. Dads are the reason we have the things we have, thank the Lord. He’s the best to shop with too, since he usually remains outside the store the entire time till he is summoned in to forge the bill. All seriousness, they always give their little girls more than they give themselves. Daddy comes to her rescue when she needs assignment help.
Dad is her Shoulder to Lean On.
When you fell down and cut yourself, your mom looked at you and told you to suck it up. But your dad, on the other hand, got down on the ground with you, and he let you cry. Then later on, when you made a mistake, or broke up with a boy, or just got sad, he was there to dry your tears and tell you everything was going to be okay, especially when you thought the world was crashing down. He will always be there to tell you everything is going to be okay, even when they don’t know if everything is going to be okay. That’s his job.
Dad is her Lifelong Best Friend.
My dad was my first best friend, and he will be my last. He’s stood by me when times got tough, he carried me when I just couldn’t do it anymore, and he yelled at me when I deserved it; but the one thing he has never done was give up on me. He will always be the first person I tell good news to, and the last person I ever want to disappoint. He’s everything I could ever want in a best friend and more.
Dads are something out of a fairytale. They are your prince charming, your knight in shinny amour, and your fairy godfather. Dads are the reasons we are the people we are today; something that a million “thank you”‘ will never be enough for.