Happy Father's Day

One of my friend's just found out that she is going to give birth to a daughter in a few months. Lucky family! This post is for the man who will be the new father.

I hope you realize how much work being the father of a daughter actually is.

The first week she comes home to you, you will get up in the middle of the night because she's crying and you want to make sure nothing is wrong. You will get up in the middle of the night because she's not crying and you want to make sure everything is all right.

Remember that it is a father's responsibility to protect a daughter from all things at all times. This includes things that crawl, things that are icky, things that might hurt, things that look like they might hurt, the dark, under-the-bed monsters, in-the-closet monsters, dirty words, the first day of school, the second day of school, and boys.

You have to teach her to throw a ball, climb a tree, ride a bike, drive a car, respect her mother, tie her shoes, know right from wrong, and to not need you to protect her.

You will need to teach her the tenets of your faith, but allow her the curiosity to find her own.

You not only have to teach, you have to learn. It will help if you can learn to like kittens, give piggy back rides, braid hair, tie a pretty bow, hold a doll right side up, and sip invisible tea from impossibly small cups.

You’d better learn to love sticky hands, sticky kisses, neck-breaking hugs, incessant giggling, unexpected tears, lop-sided home-made Father’s Day presents, and light-up-the-sky smiles that will rival the sun. That's the easy part.

While she will always be Daddy’s little girl, you’ll have to help her find the wisdom to become a woman when the time comes to leave you. That's the hard part.