She does not look like that anymore. she is much older. At twenty-four, actually, a woman now. But in a father’s eyes, when his daughter (especially if it is his only daughter) asks him something, says something, does something; the glasses that no one sees are the glasses he sees through and it is the ‘picture’d-little-girl’ that immediately plays in his mind.
We do what we do; as parents. No map, no guidebook, no manual……we do….because that is what parents do. We try to make the world better. Do they know? Do they really know. My daughter wrote the following last father’s day; it drove me to my knees. I thought I would share it…….it is a VERY strong reminder just how special our kids are. I gave her a promise once; a promise that we would not stop until we found a cure for diabetes. It was my promise, my belief; and I will pursue that until the day I die.
They do understand, you know……..they really do.
FATHER’S DAY 2014
A true father is always there. He is there to spill tears of happiness when his eyes fall upon his infant daughter. He is there with arms to catch her when she takes her first steps or stumbles. He is there to teach her at the youngest age, even though she might not understand half of it. He is there to help her color inside the lines, make her grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, and tie her shoes. He is there to hug her and kiss her on her first days of school, and to walk her in if need be. He is there to teach her and tease her and laugh with her. He is there to lecture her, prepare her for life. He is there to put up with her teenage moods and her co-ed relationships. He is there to approve, disapprove, accept and forgive. He is there to give her a big bundle of flowers when she graduates, to smile when her name is called and feel proud. He is there to embrace her and kiss her before she goes to live and learn outside home. He is there to see her become a workingwoman and someday to walk her down the aisle. He is there to watch her grow as the lines on his face grow. He is there to welcome her home, always, and let her hug him and smell the smell she remembers from childhood, the warm, protecting, comforting smell of dad. He is there to share battles, tears and struggles that come with having a disease and spin it into a battle that we one day will win. But most of all, he is always there to love her. And she is always there to love him back. Dad, I love you, happy Father’s Day.”
This gift from God is enough for any man……………………………….and surely more than this man deserves.
I am a diabetes dad.
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