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Daddies and Slippery Socks: A Salute to Fathers
by Susie Cortright
There's just something about a daddy.
If mom is sustained, lasting light, dad is a spark. It's certainly true in my
family, where the men simply produce a different kind of energy. Dads and
Grandpas are wonderfully familiar but, at the same time, exotic.
Some of my most vivid memories from childhood took place during weekend car
rides, just me and my Dad. They are engraved in my memory not because we did
anything particularly exciting or adventurous - these were mostly just weekly
errands, with the occasional stop at a donut shop. And it wasn't the
conversation; we didn't talk a whole lot. There was just something different
about being with him.
It's that way in the family I've created, too. For my daughters, Cassie and
Calliope, Daddy is an exclamation point at the end of each day.
I'm sure two-year-old Cassie doesn't know how to tell time, but at precisely
6:30 every weeknight, she's got her nose pressed against the glass, waiting for
daddy's truck to rumble up the driveway.
Calliope, almost three months old, coos and grins at me all day, but when Dad
comes home, her muscles start to work. She starts making little jabs with her
arms and legs. Her mouth forms an o-shape. She's a picture of pure
concentration.
When my daughter and I were living with my parents awaiting Calliope's birth,
Grandpa would announce his arrival each evening with two quick honks. "Grandpa!
Grandpa!" Cassie would run to the door so fast that her socks would send her
sliding across the linoleum.
The wide-eyed way Cassie looks at the men in her life just melts my heart. I
can only imagine what it does to them. Like most toddlers, her whole face has a
feeling, not just her mouth.
I wonder how things would change - with our husbands, our fathers, our
mothers, our children, our friends - if we all greeted one another like this. If
we carried this intensity into all of our relationships. If we ran so fast we
slid to greet the important people in our lives.
A recent Oprah episode had Toni Morrison asking, "Do your eyes light up when
your children come into the room?" Because that's what they are looking for, she
said.
I find myself reflecting on that wisdom frequently. Because isn't that what
we're all looking for?
Today, see if you can make sure someone finds it.
About the author: Susie Michelle Cortright is the author of More Energy for
Moms - http://www.momscape.com/energy - and founder of two "just for you"
websites: Momscape.com, designed to help busy women find balance, and
BestSelfHelp.com, devoted to helping you find the most effective personal growth
tools.
Visit
http://www.momscape.com today and get Susie's course-by-email "6 Days
to Less Stress" free. And visit
http://www.bestselfhelp.com for free self-help
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