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Kids, Motherhood

Show Me, Daddy

  • 3  Minute Read
Father gives his daughter a piggy back ride outside
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“Show me, Daddy!” My big brown-eyed curly haired almost-3-year-old girl said to my husband while handing him her brand new foam baseball bat with a giant smile across her face. And to the backyard, they went and he showed her.

Little does she know all the things her Daddy will show her in her life.

He’ll show her that a daddy can (and should) give baths, change diapers, kiss ouches and answer the cries of an infant at midnight. He’ll allow her the most indulgent of ridiculous bedtime routines, and he’ll show her just how patient and how snuggly a daddy can be.

He’ll show her that a daddy plays pretend, helping with the baby dolls and making the best cashier at the store, and even when he’s not feeling it allow said 3-year-old to paint his toenails. He’ll show her that a daddy plays outside and runs races but never quite catches her. A daddy roughhouses and plays horsie a million times a day.

He’ll show her that a daddy works hard to provide for his family. He’ll show her that even after an exhausting 48-hour shift he is always happy to come home to his family.

He’ll show her to work hard at what she wants and that someday, it will pay off.

He’ll show her that a daddy says sorry when he should, that sometimes adults can be wrong and it’s OK to admit it. He’ll show her that a daddy can get upset but he’ll always show her after how a daddy gives a hug. He’ll show her love through time-outs and door slamming. He’ll show her that chores are part of being a family.

He’ll show her how a daddy treats her momma.

He’ll show her it’s with kisses and kindness and holding hands in the car. With “Thanks for cookin’, Momma” and always with extra I love yous he’ll show her that a daddy slow dances, hugs, and shares his french fries. He’ll show her that a daddy can go to the grocery store, take out the trash, and do the dishes. That a daddy pitches in around the house. 

He’ll show her a daddy changes tires and checks the oil. A daddy shovels the snow and warms up the car. He hangs the Christmas lights and rakes the leaves. He’ll show her that daddy stays up late fixing or building or helping. He mows the lawn and pulls the weeds, and someday he’ll show her how. He’ll show her that a daddy does his best to keep his family safe.

He’ll show her a daddy always shows up.

He’ll show her that he is interested in everything that matters to her because if it matters to her, it matters to him. He’ll show her that no matter what he’ll always be there, that no toddler tantrum, teenage eye roll, or rough life patch will change his mind.

He’ll show her with big, wide-open arms that the love of a daddy runs deep and for a lifetime. 

He’ll show her a daddy sets the standard for the type of man she’ll someday marry, and the example for the type of daddy that man will someday be. And of all the daddies, I am so grateful that HE is the one showing her. 

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Articles by Dakota Finley

Dakota Finley

Dakota Finley is a 28-year-old former case manager recently turned stay-at-home mom, from down a dirt road in Colorado. She’s a momma to two baby girls and a fire wife to her high school sweetheart. She lives for summers at the lake, sour beers, her morning coffee and cheetah print. She writes from the trenches, on her phone with a baby asleep in the crook of her arm, because she loves it.

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