Happy Father’s Day: This “Daddy Thing” Is A Lifelong Lesson

While preparing my article over the past weekend, I had the pleasure of entertaining three of the loveliest ladies on the planet: my daughter, my mother, and my sister (my wife was getting some well-deserved mommy time).  As my sister prepped me, she turned to my six year-old daughter and said, “Piper, why is your dad a great dad?” Piper pulled out her pencil, and in her best penmanship wrote: “My dad loves me. My dad teaches me.”

My Teacher

Of all the titles I’ve held in my life “Daddy” is the one that has been most instructive.  Piper doesn’t realize it, but she has taught me.  As a result, I am a better man, husband, son, brother, citizen and employee.  My little girl has taught me some of life’s largest lessons:  the beauty of a big smile, the preciousness of innocence and how it can open your heart so wide you can drive the proverbial Mack truck through it.  I have developed the patience to love in the face of irrational circumstances, learned the value of listening, the magic of 25 hugs one right after another, and the joy of just sitting. Itzhak Perlman is a world-renown violinist, but the violin is best played in short bursts by a six year-old. And I have been reminded, most importantly, of the power of a nice word.

On Father’s Day, I’m excited to have a little girl named Piper Alexis Newton for all she has brought to my family.  She makes Nana and Papa as happy as anything I have ever seen, and I feel the best way to honor them is to love her just like they loved me.  I watch her with her Auntie Vickie, and I don’t even know who my sister is as she morphs into a philosopher of the highest order.

So, Happy Father’s Day to TheVillage. On this day, let’s celebrate our future, the little ones who teach the big ones!