Dear Dads, You Set the Standard for Your Daughter

“I don’t deserve this, Mommy and Daddy,” she whispered. Just loud enough to compensate for the sizzle of the boiling pasta water and steadiness of the microwave fan.

“I’m going to stop you right there,” he replied, playing with her ponytail. “You deserve the world, and don’t you dare say that again. You deserve everything. You never, ever forget that.”

“But you guys are doing all this for me. This is too much."

“It’s really not nearly not enough, sweetheart.”

And there you have it.

The Olive Garden dinner date she had been dreaming about. Interrupted by life’s unexpectedness. Brought back to life by her daddy. At 9:23 PM on a stormy, mid-May evening. Sisters and brother in bed. An after-hours night in, provided by her hero. On a paint-splattered, tried-and-true, decades-old dining table. Indiana summer tree frogs providing the background music.

It never matters what he has going on, because he’s by-far the busiest person I know. He makes the time. To let each-and-every one of his girls know: she is worth it.

Dads, date your daughter. (Grandpas too.) Start young, and set the bar high. She needs to know that she’s worth so much more. She needs to know the right kind of admiration she deserves. She needs to know she is worth nothing less than priceless. Absolutely priceless.

You are her first love.

You are one of the greatest influences in guiding her determination of her value. A standard that should match that of her Creator Above--fearfully and wonderfully made in His image. Date her often, and make it special. Memorable enough that she’ll let you know you outdid anything she could have dreamed up herself.

And if you’ve done the job right, she might just let you know: “Daddy, this is so much better than going to Olive Garden.”