Of Dads and Daughters

I still see the dancing girl in my mind and remember how once upon a time she was this little, tiny person who had dark eyes and long black ringlets of hair.

She would reach out with her arms and ask me to dance with her and I would turn on The Godfather Waltz and take her around the room. Little tiny girl wrapped up in my arms, sometimes she’d put her head on my shoulder and fall asleep and I would refuse to put her in her crib because the sound of her breathing was mesmerizing.

It seemed like we danced like that forever and then came a day when she decided she had enough, she didn’t like the music and she didn’t want to dance ‘cuz she wasn’t a baby any more. It made me sad but I didn’t fight it because there were always other things to do and we did.

Daddy/Daughter Day

I remember coaching her soccer team and trying not to tear my hair out because trying to teach five-year-old girls to play soccer was a bit like herding cats.

Daddy/daughter day sticks out in my mind. She gave me strict instructions for what to do and how to help her make our meal. She was determined to win the prize

We didn’t win and I didn’t care because I had too much fun watching her put together the feast above, too much fun following her orders and teasing her about  being bossy.

That father/daughter connection has always been strong and I have tried to make sure she understands how important she is to me. She is a clown and an instigator and in so many ways is very similar to me. Sometimes she tries to tell me how different we are because I am a boy and she is a girl, but I know better.

When she tells me one day she is going to find a boy and “make him mine” I give her a stern look and laugh silently to myself. Who does she think she is kidding?

Is she really going to try use my trick on me.

Going Back To Cali

The music on iTunes has changed and moved from The Beatles to L.L. Cool J. He is singing about Going Back To Cali and I am torn because I’ll be heading out that way soon and the thought of seeing the kids makes me smile but the song makes me feel a bit sad.

Sad because she is closer to listening to more mature music than she is to Barney, The Wiggles and all of the other baby music she tells me never to talk about.

I tell her to slow down and stop running towards getting old because it will find her soon enough but she doesn’t want to hear it. She tells me she wants to race me because she is certain she is faster and I tell her she better get a healthy head start because I am not losing.

And I am not going to, not yet.

My daughter has wheels. She can run. I have seen her chase down and pass the girls on the soccer field but those little legs aren’t quite long enough yet to beat me.

But I see the future coming. Her older brother can’t beat me in a sprint yet but I can’t run like he can. Run day at school is one of his favorite days of the week.

I am not ready to let them beat me. Not ready to see this 9 year-old going on 30 girl of mine say goodbye to being a kid. I have got some time left, not letting her run wild and wear/listen to the inappropriate but the future is heading our way at full speed.

Little Bird, Little Chavala
I dont understand whats happening today
Everything is all a blur
Gentle and kind and affectionate
The sweet little bird you were
Chavala, Chavala

Little Bird, Little Chavala
You were always such a pretty little thing
Everybody’s favorite child
Gentle and kind and affectionate
The sweet little bird you were
Chavala, Chavala
Chava Ballet Sequence- Fiddler On The Roof