You’re her Daddy.
Not the scary type though
She will know she can come to you because you don’t rule with an iron fist.
You rule with kindness and empathy.
You’re her safe place.
I’ll never be able to say
“Wait till I tell your father”
And that makes me happy.
One day she will be dating and I know you joke about saying things to guys like, “I’ll do to you whatever you do to her”. But you’ll extend your hand instead, and stay up looking at your phone.
You tie her hair up (awkwardly).
You dress her dolls with her.
You call me from a store if you see a toy pony you think she might like.
You do monkey impressions or make silly noises, anything to hear her giggle.
You cuddle and sing her to sleep.
You sometimes get her dressed in the mornings and pick out her clothes (even if you do put tights on her as pants).
Sometimes when she wakes I can smell your faint cologne on her neck.
She will remember that smell.
When I say “Daddy’s home” the whole houses heart starts to swell, and I may be frazzled and exhausted but when I see her look at you with that smile, I smile too and the hard day starts to fade away.
You tell her you’re the lucky one, she knows she is too.