Father’s Day

“The father of a daughter is nothing but a high-class hostage. A father turns a stony face to his sons, berates them, shakes his antlers, paws the ground, snorts, runs them off into the underbrush, but when his daughter puts her arm over his shoulder and says, ‘Daddy, I need to ask you something,’ he is a pat of butter in a hot frying pan.”
— Garrison Keillor

[Several years ago, when we owned our senior care company, I wrote this tribute to Dads. Our daughter was 4 years old and I would write often about her and her dad. I’m re-running it and wishing all you Dads a wonderful Father’s Day!]

When I was little I remember listening to a recording of the song “My Dad” by Paul Petersen. I loved this song because it was such a tribute to Dads and its lyrics expressed feelings in a way that I could relate to. I was called “little Mike” until I turned 12 and then as it became more evident that I was a girl, I became Michelle. I have so many wonderful memories of my Dad. I remember Sunday mornings when my mother refused to take me to church because I couldn’t sit still. I stayed with Dad after we dropped mom and my older sister off, and he would end up taking me to Suder’s store to buy me candy necklaces or wax pop bottles filled with syrupy liquid. I couldn’t wait for Saturday night wrestling to be on because even though I was a girl, Dad would let me practice Bruno Sammartino’s latest moves. Yes, I was a Daddy’s girl.

When our daughter was born, she naturally clung to her mommy. Sometimes my husband would say how she preferred her mommy instead of her daddy. I would knowingly say to him “just wait, she will soon turn into a daddy’s girl”. I knew that when this time came that part of me would miss her clinging but I knew I would be happy seeing her being the way I was with my Dad.

The time came and I watched our daughter become a “daddy’s girl”. She gets to garden with her Dad and go to Chuck E. Cheese with her Dad. They have their routines and their special rituals that make me smile. This morning they were playing pirates and she called her Dad Captain Jack Sparrow and she was the lovely Elizabeth Swain and then I heard her say that mommy could be the crew…

Happy Father’s Day!