re: Dads of daughters, I need some advice.

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I’ve got a 5 month old beautiful, healthy, happy (although her first two teeth have started pushing through her gums so not too happy) little baby girl.

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Ain’t nothing sweeter

There ain’t nothin



Vs 1:
Well there ain’t nothing,
Like the love of a baby girl,
To put your mind at ease,
Sweetest kisses in the world,
“Daddy, tuck me in now please”
There ain’t nothing like the smile,
Of a little boy,
When he knows he’s made you proud,
And the sound of “daddy’s back”
All excited screamin loud,

And I’m tellin you,
Cause you’ll know it’s true,

Chorus:
Cause when work is hard,
And you feel low,
Ain’t nothing quite,
Like comin home,
And they come runnin out,
With arms outspread a mile wide,
When you’re feelin tired,
All broken down and beat,
Yeah honey isn’t half as sweet,
As the way those hugs
will make you feel inside,
Yeah “I love you”
Makes the journey worth the ride.

Vs 2:
Well there ain’t nothin,
Quite as hard as raisin kids,
Hopin’ that you’re doing right,
All those constant burning questions,
Keeping you up late at night,
But there ain’t nothin’
Good as cuddles and cartoons,
Camping out and fishin,
By the pond,
It’s all the precious little moments,
That make up that special bond,

And it don’t last long,
Until those days are gone.

Chorus:
Cause when work is hard,
And you feel low,
Ain’t nothing quite,
Like comin home,
And they come runnin out,
With arms outspread a mile wide,
When you’re feelin tired,
All broken down and beat,
Yeah honey isn’t half as sweet,
As the way those hugs
will make you feel inside,
Yeah “I love you”
Makes the journey worth the ride.

And man those days go by so fast,
So savor them long as they last,
Cause once they’re over,
You can’t ever get em back,
And all the pictures on your phone,
Remind you once the time has gone,
How fast it goes,
So take it slow,
And just relax,

So tell the boss you’re takin off,
And making up the time you’ve lost,
Ain’t nothing like givin the love they’re givin back

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The days are long but the years are short.

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Was coming to post this.

My advice - fwiw - just try and enjoy the little things when you’re able to do so (and don’t worry too much about when you can’t).

Each age/period gives you countless opportunities. It’s not the Disney vacation so much as the unexpected stop for ice cream we don’t tell mom about.

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But I have a strong feeling like it’s different when you have a boy compared to a girl.

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When my wife announced she was pregnant I immediately knew I wanted a girl. I was raised by a hard-handed father and knew that I'd raise a boy the same way because as much as I resented it at the time I don't now.

But a girl always touches her fathers heart in a very special way because she'll always be his little girl no matter what she does or how old she grows. I think part of that is idealism of men to want to build walls around your girl to protect her from the men like we ourselves were at a younger age. I know that all my male friends who are fathers of daughters, each and every one of them, when I told them we were having a daughter - the very first thing from all of their mouths was along the lines of "well, I've got enough guns to sit with you on the porch when the boys start coming around to put the fear of God into them!"... and damned if they didn't all mean it down to the marrow of their bones.

In short, fathers want to protect and shield their little girls from the world - even though we know it's a vain attempt - partly because we know what WE were like as teens and early adulthood. It won't work, we cannot keep them in a bubble as much as we'd like. All we can do is be the best father we can - and make your peace with this now, you will NOT be perfect! - and turn the rest over to God. They'll make their mistakes, we made ours - the rest is about providing the best foundation you can and always, unconditionally loving them and making sure they have zero doubt of that each and every day of her life.

Your life has changed for the better. Cherish every second because the growing up years go by quickly. You’ll never stop loving or worrying about your child even when they become adults.

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fr33manator

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I tend to resonate a lot with “The Roots of my Raising” by Merle when it comes to my parents.

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There was no room for arguments between the parents and children in my house growing up so I do not understand that aspect.

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My daughters were never disrespectful to their mom, I just mean little BS arguments it’s best to stay out of, arguing about girl stuff

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It goes fast. In a blink of an eye she will be graduating high school.

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And graduating college, getting her masters and barely acknowledging your existence. Enjoy her while you can.

Many dads have your hero complex. Nothing to be ashamed of. You have an opportunity to make available one less incompetent woman for a man to marry; just do your job and make us proud.

Brother, and I mean this sincerely, treasure this time. As a father of a 16 year old girl(as well as a 7 yo girl and 10 month yo girl) I can assure you there will be more then enough times in the future where she crushes your heart - intentionally or not.

My 16 yo used to look at me like I was the only thing in the world when she was 10 and under. Now, it’s more of a “what have you done for me lately” attitude.

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My 16 yo used to look at me like I was the only thing in the world when she was 10 and under. Now, it’s more of a “what have you done for me lately” attitude.

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It circles back around