Butch’s Daughter Is Still His “Little Girl”

My wife and I recently attended dance recitals for two of our granddaughters. Ava is 10 years old and takes lessons at Dance by Deborah with Deborah Kochert, while Iris just turned 3 years old and takes lessons at Sophana with Sophie Lingen. Both of the girls love to dance and perform in front of a crowd. Every child on the stage had a big smile on their face…the same for all the parents, grandparents, and others who came to watch.

When I watch my granddaughters, I think of my daughter when she was a little girl, and I always get a little teary-eyed. My wife and I have three sons…all college graduates…two police officers and a soldier (now turned real estate broker)…who we are very proud of. If you are a father, you know that boys grow up and become men who have their own families to worry about and provide for. Most fathers are a little more strict with their sons, as we try to mold them into becoming strong and resilient, and good providers for their wives and children. But if you have a daughter, it’s different. A father’s instinct is to provide protection and security for all of his children, but I think a little more so for their daughters. And since daughters tend to be more expressive than sons, they are usually more eager to show affection with simple gestures and expressions. Many fathers believe that their daughters will always take care of them and provide emotional support.

Shelle is our only daughter, and we are so proud of her, too. She worked for three years after high school, and then decided that she wanted to attend college. Although she made good grades in high school, she was worried that she might not be able to be successful at Purdue, but I knew otherwise. I told her, “You can do it!” She took a full-time class load and also worked part-time, gaining more confidence each semester…and graduated Phi Beta Kappa! She has been a teacher at Southmont for the last twenty years, and also now serves as the librarian at the high school. In May, she was voted as “Teacher of the Month,” and deservedly so.

Shelle has been married for twenty years and has two children in high school, and even though she is now in her 40s, I still think of her as if she is still 8 years old! There is just some natural instinct in men to be that way. I will never forget the time that she tripped and fell at my parents’ house when she was 3 years old. When her head hit a screen door, she sustained a large gash in her eyebrow, and I took her to Culver Hospital to get stitches. As the nurse and I held her down so the doctor could numb the wound, she cried and said, “Dad, please don’t let them hurt me.” It just tore my heart up. Like other parents in that situation, I wanted to trade places with her so she would suffer no pain. I have always wanted to be her “protector.” My sons are that way with their daughters, too.

My wife is an only child, so Shelle has become not only a daughter to her, but also like the sister she never had. They talk all the time on the phone, go shopping together, and both enjoy the 4-H and sports activities of Shelle’s two children. I enjoy watching all of our grandkids, too, but when I watch Shelle’s daughter, Macee, or when she stays overnight with us, it’s like watching Shelle again. I guess I am secretly wishing that she was still a little girl and living with us.

As my favorite poet Edgar Guest stated:

“Pudgy nose or freckled face, Fairy-like or plain to see, God has surely blessed the place, Where a little girl may be; They’re the jewels of His crown, Dropped to earth from Heaven above, Like wee angel souls sent down, To remind us of His love. God has made some lovely things, Roses red and skies of blue, Trees and babbling silver springs, Gardens glistening with dew; But take every gift to man, Big and little…great and small, Judge it on its merits, and…Little girls are best of all !”

Well, we love all of our children the same. They are very special to us, and we are glad that God blessed us with four great kids. My little boys are now grown men with their own ideas and ways of doing things. And yes, Shelle is a grown woman with her own ideas and ways of doing things, too. But two years ago, for Christmas, she gave me a sterling silver key ring with the following inscription…”I’ll always be your little girl…you’ll always be my hero.” It wasn’t an expensive gift, but it was one of the best presents I have ever received. And yes…my eyes watered up again! Because she knows that I will always think of her as “my little girl.” Shelle, dear….I love you. You are the best daughter I could ever ask for!

John “Butch” Dale is a retired teacher and County Sheriff. He has also been the librarian at Darlington the past 32 years, and is a well-known artist and author of local history.