This is fair warning this posting is PG13. For those of you men that embarrass easily, I give you permission to skip today’s blog! J This summer, my youngest daughter and last child officially became a woman. Thankfully my wife was there with Sina as she walked through the doors that, for women, can feel like a curse but marks the beginning of God’s design for the miracle of life. Kelli has always done a fantastic job of helping our girls see this change as a sacred blessing and a privilege (she will blog later about what she does them). I watched her, once again, celebrate the event with our youngest girl.

But, it reminded me of a time when I wasn’t so lucky. Let me set the stage. Thirteen years ago, as an eleven year old (less than a month from her twelfth birthday), Krista was playing on a baseball all-star team. She was the only girl on the team. She played catcher and was a pretty good little ball player. I took Krista to a tournament up north by myself, because Kelli was with our oldest daughter in Tennessee. Alyse was playing fast pitch on a team that had made it to nationals. I’m sure you see where this is going. After the first day of games we went to the home we were staying in (we had friends in the area). The next morning in the car, as we were driving to join the rest of the team, Krista turns to me and says, “Dad can we please stop at Safeway.” I said of course, but asked her why. She proceeded to tell me that she had just started. Instantaneously beads of sweat began forming on my forehead (some of you dads out there can feel my pain!) as I began to imagine what these next few moments were going to be like trying to explain to my daughter how to use something I had never used myself. I paused, took a deep breath, I’m sure I swallowed hard, and then asked her, “uh.. has mom… uh mom has already… uh… she has already talked to you about this… right?” And then I waited, my beads of sweat growing in anticipation of her answer.

Playing short stop on her dad's little league team & playing on one of the Centralia All Star Teams (farthest right)

Then, Krista confidently and happily said, “oh yeah, she’s already shown me everything. I just need you to buy me pads.” Well you can’t imagine my relief, by this time in my marriage and with one older daughter, buying pads was a nothing. We stopped at Safeway, bought the pads, and she caught the rest of the weekend. We called Kelli right away and she carried on with Krista (read this in a high pitched voice), “how could you do that while I’m clear across the country! Are you OK” But once again, Krista very matter of factly said, “it’s fine mom, dad took care of it.” Which of course is a bit of a stretch, but it felt good as her dad to hear her talk that way. Later, when some of the other moms on the team were talking to Kelli, they were mortified that Krista had to go through this with only her dad. It was certainly a bonding experience for a young father and his daughter that we still laugh about today.

Yesterday I talked about dating your daughters. This was one of those times where I was so thankful for the relationship that we had built. Dads if you're like me, these "female" topics aren't my favorite part of having daughters, but remember that as your little girl begins to become a young woman, she wants to know if it's alright - more importantly is she alright. Sometimes, with beads of sweat, we need to be there to say emphatically YES. Yes, it's alright. Yes, I love who you are becoming. And YES I'm so glad that god gave me a daughter. That's the message that we want our little girls to hear from their daddy. And for those of you who may be reading this without the option of having dad send that message - my prayer for you is that the church (your church) will be a father to the fatherless. I pray that God will send some men to be a healthy part of helping your young girl walk through the doorways of womanhood. I know it can be scary as the parent of a girl in that situation, but imagine what it is like for your daughter. Somehow we must find a way to send the message loud and clear - I'm so glad that you are a woman and I'm so proud of who you are becoming. 

My all star team today!