I read the best blog post today. "50 Rules for Daddy's and Daughters".. It was great. You can read it here.
Make sure you grab a Kleenex. Don't forget to share it with Daddy's you know..
A few of the things the writer mentions brought wonderful memories of my dad aka. "Papa" back to me. I thought I might mention a few of them.
Dancing...
Some of my best memories was dancing with my papa. I stood on his feet and we twirled and swirled around the living room. It was grand. I loved dancing with him. It was the only opportunity we had to dance together. I'm so glad he did.
Be ready to dress funny...
My papa would wear funny hats. The ones in the photo I made out of paper grocery bags with my crayons. My mom cut them out. We all had party hats to wear. His did him proud. Papa was never afraid to have fun and tease. His laughter always made the house feel happier.
Get out and play in the Snow together..
My papa loved the snow. He took us out and played with us. It was a pain in the neck to bundle us up in those crazy snow pants and coats, boots, scarfs, hats and mittens. We always had to go pee just as soon as the whole get up was on. He would make us leave everything but the boots and snow pants on. LOL
We played together. Don't miss an opportunity to play.
Take your daughter Hunting and Fishing...
If you hunt and or fish. Take your daughter with you. I loved going fishing with my dad. He was good about teaching me how to bait my own hook and how to get my own fish off. If I cried he would do it for me, but he would remind me I could do it. My first deer hunting trip was with my papa. We never saw a deer. I think it could have been because I love to talk. LOL But he took me.
He showed me how to shoot and taught me gun safety.
Your Daughter will never be so big that you can't hold her hand...
I loved it when my papa held my hand. That big old hand was a comfort to me.
I knew that hand meant safety. When papa became ill and was in his last months of life,
We held hands every day.
Be ready to be silly at every opportunity...
I can't say this enough. My papa was willing to be silly with me.
We had fun. Life has enough serious moments in it. Papa loved to be silly.
I have a great photo of him with candles up his nose and in his ears and fingers.
It was his birthday. Papa was the Supervisor of the Lab at our local hospital.
He had a serious job and a serious position. I was so glad my papa could still be silly.
Know that pink foam curlers may be involved....
A friend of ours David has a daughter. One day we went over to their house for supper. David was sporting some pink foam rollers in his hair and was getting some clear nail polish on his toes. Now David is NOT the pink roller, nail polish type, but his daughter wanted to play beauty parlor. He loved her enough to play with her and played his part no matter what it was.
Story time is a big deal.
My papa loved to read to me.One of my favorites was Uncle Wiggly.
I have that book and look through it from time to time.
I can still hear his voice change as he read each character's part.
Papa told stories too. Stories from when he was a boy, and stories about his
brothers and sisters and things that happened. Papa would also make up stories.
He would start and Keith and I would add in a bit here and there when it was our turn.
Keep your Lap available...
The last time I sat on my Papa's lap I was 27 yrs. old. Papa passed the following year.
It was a special thing I did. When I was hurt or sick or frustrated with life I
knew my papa's lap was available. I would flop down and put my head on his shoulder.
He would always hold me and tell me everything was going to be alright.
He'd pat my back and just let me sit.
Sometimes I told him about what was making me sad. Sometimes I would just sit.
Today I'm 53 yrs. old and would give anything to sit on his lap one more time.
Have a special name for her.
My papa called my his little gumdrop.. There was nothing little about me,
but my papa didn't care about that. I was his gumdrop, his sweetheart.
Our calling him Papa was special too.
Sing...
My papa played guitar. I have photos of him with his guitar and with a collage band he played with.
One of the things we did together was sing. Papa would get out his guitar and we would sing.
I couldn't for the life of me tell you what we sang. We sang old songs, and Church songs.
But the one song that I remember as clearly as anything is "Our Song"..
Papa would always sing me "Our Song"..
"You Are My Sunshine"..
That guitar never came out that he didn't sing that song to me.
He would sing it first, then we would sing it together.
When papa was spending his last days here. I held his hand,
and in my head I sang our song over and over to him.
I wish now that I would have been brave enough to sing it out loud.
I should have. I am hoping he heard my heart singing it to him.
Lastly: You Don't Have To Be Perfect...
You don't have to be perfect.. your daughter already thinks you are.
You are the slayer of dragons,
You are her hero.
You can wrestle bears,
and tame alligators.
You can heal any hurt.
You can fix anything mechanical.
She hangs on your every word.
well, not so much when she is a teenager, but she will get over that too.
The most important things my papa taught me were:
His love was unconditional.
I could always come home.
It is better to give then to receive.
I could be anything, do anything, there were no limits on me.
Family is the most important thing.
Love God above all.
My Papa wasn't perfect, but he was perfect for me.
I'm hoping that every little girl has a Daddy just like him.
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