Just in time for Father’s Day.
Just in time for Father’s Day, Adam Spik talks about a Manatee, a spineless creature and manipulation/mind-control. He also encourages our readers to procreate. It’s a real good read and makes you grateful to be a dad. Great job Adam!
Father’s Day is this Sunday. I know many who read this are fathers to little princesses like RL and I are (we have our own daughters with our own respective spouses. This ain’t My Two Dads).
Becoming the proud father to a daddy’s girl happened without me knowing it and certainly with me intending for it to happen. This parasitic creature that turned my wife into an emotional, cheesecake craving, manatee would turn me into a spineless pushover. Relax, my wife knows she was a manatee. The word to focus on here is was, not manatee. I think it was my daughter’s 2nd birthday when my spine ceased to exist and I became wrapped around her finger.
Long before we had kids my wife and I discussed what kind of parents we would be. We knew we wanted two. We knew we wanted to expose them to as much as we could and provide them with all we could while still keeping them grounded, respectful, and honorable. Like many men I had hoped our first would be a boy. I imagined him growing up as I would teach him to ride a bike, throw a spiral, explore nature, and fix anything. You can imagine my pleasure when we were told our 1st born would be a boy. Then along our 2nd — a girl. I was pleased. I had my boy and I figured my wife would now have a girl to buy pretty dresses, braid her hair, and paint her nails.
From the start my son and I bonded. Our daughter; not so much. One of my favorite things when our son was a baby was to have him sleep on my chest. Every time I put our daughter on my chest she would squirm and fight to get back to mommy. I was convinced that for her first 2 years of life the umbilical cord was still attached. After her 2nd birthday she came to me more and more. We always said we would not spoil our kids. However, I think it is ingrained in the female psyche to butter-up men to get what they want. She would preface her requests with, “Daddy, I love you. . .” For example, “Daddy, I love you. Can I have a string cheese?” Of course she would pair her question with the cutest face she could make. She is currently 4 so she is not yet in school. When I get home from work in the morning and walk through the door she runs full bore and jumps into my arms. No matter how bad or tiring work was I instantly feel like it is now the best day ever. I want to hold her forever. I am certainly not going to let her date. At the very least she can’t date before she turns 25.
Dad Against Daughter Dating.
Just as we put our son in soccer, and baseball, and tae-kwon-do, and everything else under the sun; we keep ourselves busy (and broke) driving our daughter around to various activities too. Currently she is ballet and hula dance lessons. I think it is just and excuse for my wife to buy her more clothes. She has a recital coming up next week. Part of the recital is a Daddy-Daughter Dance. We went to our practice last Friday. The dance instructor was carrying on about how it is a crowd favorite. She said we were going to walk through the steps first before we learned the music as the music makes hers cry. C’mon I thought. It is a short little number danced to Steven Curtis Chapman’s Cinderella. Well, after practicing it several times, looking into my daughter’s sweet face I felt my lip quiver and my eyes water slightly. I thought to myself, “When my princess here grows up and is ready to get married I am going to lose it.” We left the studio excited to go home and show mom what we had learned. I told my wife how the instructor always cries when watching this dance. I said I thought that was ridiculous until we started dancing and I nearly cried. My wife grabs the video camera, I cue up the music, and my precious angel and I dance for mom and brother. Of course, being the 7 year old boy he is, my son starts to laugh and rolls around on the sofa. Then I notice my wife is crying. She says it is her allergies. My ass it is. Becoming a daddy’s girl just happened. I love my family more than anything on earth. That love will make you do a wide spectrum of things. It will make you do things you never thought you were capable of — like dancing with little ballerinas and crying and sharing it on world renowned bike site. Hug your kids this Father Day. If you don’t have kids then go out and make some. Part of the fun of being a dad is the legwork in becoming a dad.