Father of Girls

I would be lying if I did not admit my initial concerns about parenting. 

Oh, not about myself!

I’m one of two girls, and I felt rather confident about parenting girls.  I was a cheerleader, dancer and in pageants.  I swam on the swim team and ran on the track team in high school.  I could handle my fair share of drama, dance moms, and sporting events. 

I was worried about my sweet husband who was an only child. 

Not only did he have no siblings, but he had no sisters!  How would he ever be able to parent GIRLS?  He played soccer and football and lived for most sports growing up.  He is an avid Arizona State University football fan and loves to golf.  I knew that girls would be wonderful, but I also felt that he would NEED a son.

What I didn’t consider was that this lover of sports, politics and history was also close to his mother. 

He spent gobs of time with his paternal grandparents growing up and had a special relationship with his grandmother.  He also has four aunts and a few girl (and boy) cousins that he was lucky enough to spend time with growing up.  To this day, he will get on the phone with one of his aunts on occasion and talk for hours! 

In high school, he had a severe back injury and had to give up football.  My sports loving and very extroverted husband joined theater and ended up being good.  He was very good.  He attended the Shakespeare Conservatory in high school and was accepted to university on a theater scholarship.  You know what, he even had to take dance in college, and ballet at that! 

I now realize that all of this was training him to be the ultimate girl dad!

He can dance with our daughters and sing show tunes with the best of them.  Sometimes at dinner, I sit in amazement how he DOESN’T MISS A WORD or a beat to a song that we have blaring on the iPad.  He is a talker.  He talks to our girls, and he is a good listener.  He has a sweet tooth that can rival any old lady’s and is happy to oblige in making, baking and indulging in sweets.  It is like the Lord knew he was to be a girl dad. 

He is excellent. 

He coaches our youngest’s soccer team and cheers our older two on at cross country meets and tennis matches.  He is still working on a golf partner and probably wishes all of his daughters were just a tad bit more competitive.  As it turns out, two of the three adore going with him to football games and generally like doing anything with him even if it is sports related.  He is the fun one!  He has said more times than I can count on one hand, “I love having daughters.” 

In hindsight, he is the far superior parent: patient, loving, understanding, open and honest.  

I was worried, but God knew.  Sometimes, I hear in my head, “Oh ye of little faith!”  The God who counts the hairs on my head and formed my daughters in their mother’s womb handpicked John Eddy to be their father from the beginning of time.  His ways are ALWAYS better.  John is the perfect dad for them. 

I can see so clearly that each valley and mountaintop in John’s life has been pruning him, forming him, and stretching him to be the dad he is to our daughters. 

The God of the universe makes no mistakes.  I believe now more than ever that our lives are not one big wild coincidence!  Today, I’m thanking the good Lord for showering us with the grace of a husband and a father who loves unconditionally, dances like Elvis, and belly laughs without hesitation.  The Eddy women know that a perfect Heavenly Father exists because we have a most excellent one serving and loving us on earth.