D is for...

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is for Daughters



I had a teacher in high school that had three daughters. During a parent teacher conference he was talking to my dad about having daughters. He joking said that they drive him crazy and he put a ladder under their window so they could run away if they wanted.
 I often wondered what my dad thought about having so many daughters. When he met my mother she had 5 children from a previous marriage. Three of those five children were girls.  It didn’t matter to him. He was willing to help my mother take care of her three daughters and be the father figure they so desperately needed.
Yet, I don’t think that he knew that he and my mother together would have 4 more kids of their own and in that four, three would be daughters. 
 Yes, my dad has six daughters.
My Brothers and Sisters and ME!

I know there were times he loathed having to deal with boyfriends and standing in line at Walgreens holding a Jumbo pack of sanitary napkins. I know we caused a lot of sleepless nights of worrying after one of us missed curfew or when an abusive boyfriend attacked us. (That was me by the way. I had an abusive boyfriend in high school).
Yet my dad always knew that his daughters would always protect him when he needed them to. When my mom died, his daughters were there to rally around him and take care of him. . My dad had a fleet of daughters that handled everything even raising money for the funeral (They were didn’t have enough money to get life insurance) right  down to writing the obituary and getting her dressed and ready for her home going.
After that we did and have done everything we could to take care of him. . It seems like that is the rule. Daughters protect their daddies and they are there for them. My dad was a very good man and he showed me what a real man looked like. He set the bar and hoped that we would find a husband that would exceed that.
So, I did just that. I found an amazing husband and my father thinks he is amazing. He said he sleeps well at night knowing I am married to him. My husband who grew up with mainly his mother and sister didn’t think he would have all girls. He assumed there would be at least one boy in the bunch.  
Nope. Didn’t happen.  

We have three beautiful girls and on holidays when his mom and sister come to visit, he will be surrounded by women.
I told him it was a blessing to have daughters. I told him has three daughters that will no doubt take care of him. Okay, I only guarantee one daughter that will take care of him.  The jury is still out on the last two. But no matter what they will always love their daddy and because of him will no doubt find amazing men to marry that will exceed their own father’s greatness.
That might be hard for them, now that I think about it. Their daddy set the bar extremely high.

Comments

  1. Davyd MorrisSeptember 21, 2013 at 8:27 PM

    What a wonderful man! It sounds as if his parenting skills were ahead of their time--lucky you. For all the "men" out there who are less than the fathers (or brothers) they should be, please take note. I believe that we men are not held to a high enough standard in far too many cases. Shame on us.

    I'm also sorry to hear about your abusive boyfriend in the past; I so happy to hear that you have a "real man" who loves and cares for you and his daughters like the treasures you are.

    I have three older sisters (and a brother--he's a problem) and a mess of female cousins. They taught me to cook and sew, etc. I learned that it's about individual character and behavior, not gender. It all came in handy when I became the stay-at-home parent to two boys for 13 years! My career-oriented wife does not cook, do laundry or clean to this very day (and those boys are 21 and 24). I wouldn't have it any other way.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anna K. StewartSeptember 22, 2013 at 5:46 PM

    Sounds like your Dad is a stand-up guy...what a wonderful tribute to him. And to the relationship between him and all of his daughters. I know my mother was one of 5 girls...they all absolutely adored their dad. That father/daughter relationship is an important/powerful thing. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Annis CassellsSeptember 22, 2013 at 10:07 PM

    Lovely and loving post, Donnee. Your dad and your husband are men to be admired. This, I loved: "My dad had a fleet of daughters that handled everything..."

    I can imagine the love and pride your parents must have felt. I have two daughters; they are excellent young women whom I respect and admire.

    Thanks for sharing your life with us. xoA

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownSeptember 22, 2013 at 10:23 PM

    My girlfriend and I went to Comic Con today. While we were there I saw a little girl in the cutest Harley Quinn cosplay I have ever seen. Harley is my girlfriend's favorite comic book character and the instant we saw her we new that our daughter would have something just as wonderful to wear around while her parents geek out.

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownSeptember 25, 2013 at 2:31 PM

    As always I really enjoyed reading about you and your family.

    You are fortunate to have such a wonderful role model for a father. You should have titled your post "Dads and Daughters" because you spoke so highly of the daughters and dad in your story.

    I'm so glad you found someone special to be the father of your daughters. Something tells me, the other two will come around when it's time to take care of their daddy.

    ReplyDelete

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