Archive for the ‘Love’ Tag
Touching moment recognized
Filed under: Memories | Tags: Blessings, Children, Legacy, Love
Leave a Comment So Ten says to me, “Dad, when you hold Twelve and make her go to sleep…it’s pretty!”
Blown away by a six-year-old’s observation.
It’s good for your daughter to see a man in a tender situation.
I’m glad she saw…glad she recognized tenderness.
I hope she files that away until the time she starts looking for a man of her own.
Isn’t life good?
How often do you hear, “I love you!” each day?
Filed under: God, Reflection, Uncategorized | Tags: Big Family, Blessings, Love
Leave a Comment Its a good question.
I hope your answer is a blessing to you.
Mine is to me.
I would say the number is in the double digits.
A friend recently brought up to me that his children were reticent to tell him they loved him once they reached a certain age.
Hmmmm. No me I said.
Young and old…boys and girls…men and women…they have no hesitation when it comes to letting me know they love me.
Wow!
Well blow me down, Popeye!
I think it is God’s way of reminding me of how loved I am.
Does that mean I need a constant reminder?
Like, who doesn’t?
It is a blessing for which I am eternally grateful.
And…I love you guys!
Feeling the LOVE more than ever before
This may sound strange but I feel more loved these days than ever before.
Hard to explain.
Maybe because I’m around my loved ones more than ever before?
Maybe because the older ones have a better appreciation for me…
And, maybe its because the younger ones are getting older and are better able to express their feelings?
Maybe I’m more in touch with my feelings these days?
Maybe blogging is a catalyst for me being in better tough with my feelings?
Maybe it is that sermon I heard last winter where the pastor suggested that we were not capable of serious love and we needed to ask God to love through us?
I’ve been praying that God would love me through my family and would love my family through me.
Maybe because of that prayer all of the above has happened?
Could it be…more people are praying for me and this is
what it feels like?
Maybe I shouldn’t think about it so much and just pray and feel the love.
Anyway…I’m very thankful for the love.
Peeking into the future
Filed under: God, Memories, Reflection | Tags: Blessings, Children, God, Hope, Legacy, Love
Comments (1) The Daddy-Daughter dance finally arrived.
My date (Nine) looked beautiful.
Counting the minutes til we departed she asked me every few minutes, “is it time yet?”
We were one of the first couples to arrive….check in…coat check…photo session…dinner then dancing.
We danced every dance…I should say she danced every dance.
Every time there was a chain dance with all the little girls forming a line snaking through the dance floor she excused herself to join the line.
Next dance there she was holding out her hand for me to dance with her.
Fast dances…slow dances…she was my partner.
Not like the other girls who avoided their fathers all night…my partner was the perfect date.
And in those moments I had a glimpse into the future…at the amazing young woman who was stirring inside her…beautiful both inside and out.
This was so much more than a father-daughter event…it was the unwrapping of a layer of childhood that will never be a part of her again…and a peek at the woman wrapped inside…who will one day bloom and blossom as a spectacular work of beauty, charm and grace.
How blessed am I that I can be the one peeling back this layer.
How blessed am I than I’ve had this privilege before.
How blessed am I that I have the honor of not just unwrapping God’s precious gift to us but to help shape the emerging woman inside.
We know the that the pattern for her future husband molded by a young girl’s relationship with her father.
What an awesome responsibility…one that I can only venture into with daily prayer and guidance from God…for she belongs to Him and my role is that of steward of His precious possessions.
I danced every dance with her that night but I know there will come a day when the other man of her dreams will tap me on the shoulder and ask for the next dance.
I know God has already selected him…that he will walk with God and will love and cherish her almost as much as I do and just a little less than God does.
Thank you for this night…thank you for this child-woman-to-become…thank you for the responsibility.
I pray that I may live lone enough to love her children.
I am truly blessed.
Precious landmines of love
I grabbed a legal pad for a meeting on Saturday.
It was one I must have had laying around for years.
Not many pages remaining.
Writing furiously I came to the last page and found a curious note?
I laughed out loud.
I cried.
The note said: “Love You Daddy!…Thanks for yesterday! I love you so much! You’re the best! Have a great Day!
Love Two.”
Actually she signed her real name.
It must have been there two or three years at least.
She had spent the day with me at work. We rode together and she took the car and went shopping.
We had lunch together.
She shopped some more.
We rode home together.
It was a wonderful day.
Two is always leaving notes for me.
Precious landmines of the soul.
Like a landmine you never know when you will trip over one.
Instead of destruction…they cause an explosion of emotion…a burst of love.
I save every one of them.
She is not the only one…Four is a landmine planter too.
My cup is overflowing with love.
I must remember to plant more of these myself.
My life as a linguist
Filed under: Reflection | Tags: Big Family, Love, Together Time
Leave a Comment Did you know I am a linguist?
A linguist is one who speaks several languages fluently.
If you know me this may come as a surprise. You thought I only knew American English and a little bit of pig Latin.
Hah!
The bible says in John 10:27: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me”
I live a backwards version of this verse. “It goes something like this: I listen to my sheep; I understand their language and I can serve and communicate with them”.
Confused? Let me explain.
Six has braces and a lot of other things going on in her sinus region. To make maters worse she speaks very fast (probably because so many people are speaking at once in our family). I am around her the most so I often find myself translating for others. I speak Six.
Seven is autistic. He doesn’t always say what he means. I usually understand what he means because I understand him. It’s a gift. I speak Seven.
Ten is a creature of habit and order. She eats pasta at most meals…served in a special yellow bowl…with the “Tony the Tiger” spoon only “Tony” is worn off. I can pick the right spoon out of a sea of many similar looking spoons.
When these criteria are not men she usually throws herself on the floor.
I speak 10.
If eleven doesn’t like what is for dinner she heads for the bathroom where she spits out dinner in the waste basket. Those of us who speak her language usually head her off to be sure she swallows before entering the powder room.
I speak Eleven.
Eight is a people pleaser. She also has an unquenchable appetite. She will say she likes everything we serve for dinner but if it doesn’t vanish from her plate in 30 seconds then we know she is not be forthright.
I speak Eight.
I think I speak everyone’s language.
It’s a gift.
A gift to be a linguist…and to have so many people I love around me that I have developed this occupational vocation.
Hey – another skill for the resume!
She speaks my (love) language
Words of affirmation is my love language (The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman).
Apparently Nine speaks this love language fluently.
I could bring her along as a translator.
Examples:
Friday is Fun Lunch Day at her school. Parent’s get a break and the kids get a special lunch catered.
So on the way home last Fun Lunch day I ask Nine, “So how was Fun Lunch today?”
“Bad!”
Bad? Why?” I ask.
“Because you didn’t make it!”
Choke.
Last night Nine had a play date at a school friend’s home. She stayed for dinner.
Now this friend’s mother owns a restaurant in town and cooks all the food.
I was wishing I could have accompanied her to the play date or at least to dinner.
Again our conversation of the way home…
“So, how was dinner?”
“OK”
“Just OK?” “Why just OK?” I ask.
“You didn’t make it!” she giggles.
I am sitting in the waiting room at the UIC Ortho Clinic as I write this, sobbing like a fool. The people around me must think I am worried about a root canal or some other horrible dental problem.
I believe one way God hugs us is through the arms and words of each other. How beautiful that God would use this sweet child to bless me.
When we realize that we can be a blessing to each other, we can experience that peace that surpasses all understanding.
I am blessed and I pray that these posts can be a blessing to you.
She knows I love her
So in the middle of a serious snowball fight I blurt out to Nine, “I love you!”.
The usual, anticipated response, especially between lovers or family, is “I love you too”.
But she says, “I know!”
I think I like this response better.
To be known is to be loved and to be loved is to be known.
She knows I love her. I know she loves me. We don’t need to parrot each other.
But saying “I know” speaks volumes to me.
She is confident od my love. Not just because I say it, but because she knows it. And I know she knows. And she knows I know she loves me.
You can learn a lot from a six-year-old.
I wish I had that confidence long ago.
A beautiful noise
Filed under: Reflection | Tags: Big Family, Children, Love, Together Time
Leave a Comment Sunday.
Sunny day.
Lunch time.
Good food.
Better company.
Seven girls – most of my daughters.
Laughing.
Singing.
Enjoying each other,enjoying me, enjoying them.
Click!
Another beautiful memory preserved in the camera of my soul.
Thank you God.
First apartment
This is overdue.
Four moved into her first apartment last month. She found it. We checked it out together. Very sound judgment. Good choice in roomates.
I’m so glad I could be a part of the process. There is joy in the journey.
I wish I had parents that could mentor me as I jogged down the road of life but they did the best job they knew how.
Probably what they lacked is made up in our efforts to mentor our precious children.
