Dads and daughters have special relationships. I was lucky enough to have two girls, Abbie and Annie. They were two years apart but always played together because Annie, who was younger, wanted to be so much like her big sister, Abbie.
It seems like my girls hung on every word I said and what my attitude was toward them. As dads, we go out every day and face the world to earn a living so we can feed and take care of our families. When I can home, Abbie and Annie would run out to see me, and no matter how dirty I was from working they would hug me tight.
As we ate dinner together, the girls would tell their mother and me about the adventures they had that day around the house. They described everything in detail, from how little ants crawled onto and bit their toes to how they climbed trees.
After-dinner bath time was more like swimming lessons. We had a large bathtub, and they would slide off the edge and act like they were swimming. This would go on until they both looked like prunes. We had a hard time getting them to leave the bathroom. Once they did, the girls came into the bonus room and their mother and I rocked them in our big recliners until they fell asleep. I was usually the one who fell asleep first, though. We then took them to bed, told them we loved them and let them know we’d see them in the morning.
Where did all those 24-hour days go? How is it that they soon were telling us not to come into the bathroom, or they were getting dressed? I never knew it could take teenage girls hours just to get their hair done. A man can walk out of the shower and be dressed in five minutes.
Where did all those 24-hour days go? When was it that they no longer rode with me to go to school or wanted to be seen with us as their parents? They would walk a mile to something instead of having us drop them off at the front door.
Where did all those 24-hour days go? What were the days like when we knew they were safe and studying in college, and they were on their own? I always took for granted that our two girls would graduate from college, get married and have their own families.
Your life can change in a second with one phone call, so make every 24-hour day count as the best one ever.
Live inspired,
Jimmy
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