Dads are important.

Mine has been married to my mom for 46 years.

He worked hard to provide for the family for 29 1/2 years at his first job out of college. And when corporate decided that he was expendable, he worked contract engineering jobs until he found a place to stay for 10 more years until he retired.

There are a lot of times when he and I don't speak the same language, let alone love language, but he's my dad, and my personal PR person (to the point of embarrassment), and always a wonderful supporter. When I was little, we built (OK, assembled, but I was 4) metal bookshelves together for the basement. He came on school field trips with me. He still drives me to the airport whenever I need to fly out of DC (and I leave my car at my parents' house instead of in long-term parking). And just ask him about interpreted theater... no matter that it took four years of "Your oldest child! Your only daughter!" to convince him to come up to see me interpret a show, he now raves about the experience to anyone who will listen.

We had an interesting conversation recently on encouraging in a way that encourages rather than expects overmuch... (there were kleenex involved, on one side anyways)... but for "all the daddies with little girls who aren’t old enough yet to ask for what they need from you", I encourage you to read What Little Girls Wish Daddies Knew.


source: My baby book! Ostensibly mom took it.