A Poem for my Daughter, she Turned 13 Year Old Today.

Today my oldest daughter Keegan turns 13 years old, that is a big deal and I am so very proud of her. I wrote her a poem about what I believe about daughters and fathers as I have two.

What is a daughter? Sugar and spice and everything nice?

Of course they are that, but so much more. Daughters make men of fathers.

A man in the world by himself can take care of himself, take risks and more.

Because they are the only ones they care about and the only one to suffer from their actions.

But make a man a father of a daughter and all that changes. As men we teach our sons to be men.

But what of our daughters? What do we teach them, and more importantly what do they teach us?

For me I’ve learned that detangle hairspray makes a big difference when making ponytails.

I’ve learned I have no sense of fashion and that suggesting wardrobe combinations is best left to others.

I’ve learned that a single lazyboy recliner can accommodate not only myself, but also two sleepy girls, two pillows, two stuffed animals, two blankets, and the heat equivalent of a nuclear reactor, without breaking.

I know how to paint nails, hold a tea cup properly, find every dressup game on the Internet, and found that the singing of a song doesn’t have to be done right, but rather to simply enjoy that someone wants so sing it to me. Over and over again.

I’ve learned that kissing a booboo really does help, that ten bandages are better than one, and that a single tear on the cheek of my daughter feels like a knife in my heart, no matter the source of the pain.

I’ve learned that what they see in me is what they will seek in the world. My daughter is not a princess, for I am not a king.

I’ve learned the warmth from one tiny pair of arms around my neck can melt away all of my fears.

I’ve learned a single I love you daddy, can cancel out the worst day I’ve ever had.

And I’ve learned to be a better man because all daughters deserve that. They deserve the best earthly father that our father in heaven can supply.