Saturday, June 20, 2009

Dads and Daughters

My Dad passed away 25 years ago, and still hardly a day goes by that I don't think of him. It wasn't until I went to college that I realized what a truly incredible man he was. I learned from the other girls I met there that not all fathers were like him. I learned that some fathers didn't care, or weren't there, or couldn't be bothered.


My Father came from poverty, born of teen mother. His father left him when he was 12 years old. If you have been reading my blog for long you know his story.

When I think of my Dad, beyond the love that I remember, I remember having such respect for him. I knew that he would always do what was right. He took a tattered childhood and built a life of success and respect. Everyone who knew him respected him.

I learned how to be a loving mother and a lady from my mother, but my self confidence and self esteem came from my Dad. A Father's role in a daughter's life cannot be measured. It defines how she sees herself and how she lets men treat her.

John Mayer wrote a beautiful song called "Daughters." His lyrics say it all:

Fathers, be good to your daughters

Daughters will love like you do

Girls become lovers who turn into mothers

So mothers, be good to your daughters too


Ooh, you see that skin?

It's the same she's been standing in

Since the day she saw him walking away

Now she's left cleaning up the mess he made

................................



On behalf of every man

looking out for every girl

You are the guide and the weight of her world

So fathers, be good to your daughters

Daughters will love like you do



Today I want to wish all Fathers a Happy Father's Day, but I want to say more to the fathers of daughters. Your daughter sees herself through your eyes. How you love her and treat will forever mark how she loves and treats herself. She will inevitably find a man like you. Are you the kind of man you want her to find? You need to be.

Be good to your daughters, daughters will love like you do.