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Today marks another year since  I spent the day watching the birth of my only girl! Back then, you didn’t know the sex of the baby till it was born.  So it was a complete surprise for me to find out that after four boys I would be the father of a girl. I should have known what a special girl I was getting because she was born on the same day as my favorite baseball player, Bobby Richardson, when I was a small boy. (I didn’t think my wife would have approved of naming her Bobby, so I backed off of that pretty quickly) At the time, I didn’t realize how her birth would alter my life. Even though she was the fifth child, and I was, by then, an experienced father, I soon learned that being the father of a girl was vastly different from being the father of a boy. I could tell the difference immediately even though she was just a baby. Somehow, I viewed my responsibility to her differently. I felt more protective and responsible for her well-being.

The hugs and kisses from the boys were always a great thing. I loved playing “rough” with them and always enjoyed playing ball, in all its forms, with them. But, somehow, having a little girl softened me and made me more gentle. It is hard to describe but not difficult to understand for all fathers of “little girls.” I was always proud to be the father of four boys. I reveled in it! It fed my “machismo” attitude. But by 1988, I guess the Lord had thought I was ready for a new lesson in life.  Perhaps He thought I had matured enough to handle it. I was so happy when the doctor held her up that summer day and said, “It’s a girl!” I was really happy! It seemed so right.

Sometimes, I am riding in the car with my wife, and I think of my “little girl” and say to her, “You know, I really love Kibby. (Nickname) She’s the best!” My wife just smiles. I really do miss having her around. I miss her smile, her laugh, and her quick wit. Life is just so short!

My daughter now has two little girls that looks like her! I hope they bring as much joy to her life as she has brought to mine. I hope someday, many years from now, she will feel the sentiment that I feel as I write this!  I hope her eyes will swell up with tears of love….because it is a wonderful thing to love your daughter and think that she is the most beautiful girl in the world. She has changed my life! She has made me a better father, man, husband and follower of Christ. That’s the gift God gave me, and every other father…. on the day our daughters were born!