Dada's Girl

Jim gets ribbed sometimes by his friends because he has no boys, and sometimes I am sure he likes the idea of having a son, but I doubt there is anything better than the devotion of a daughter to her father. At 4 years old Bridget is overflowing with love for her Dada. Bridge started using "Dada" this past year while Megan frequently calls him "Daddy" and they all call him "Papa". Whatever they call him it comes with the aura of the claim "he is mine". They each look to him with a need, each wants him to think she is special, valued, more so then I think they look to me for this kind of approval. Bridget's desire for this approval is right on the surface. She beams when he shows her extra tenderness and her whole body weeps if she thinks he is mad at her. Bridget likes to keep track of where Jim is in the house and she mentions him throughout the day if he is not home.

     We recently ate some M&M's as a treat after lunch and I noticed she left a few green ones on her napkin, when I asked her about it she said "I will save it for my Dada." Years ago Emma and Rachael insisted that Jim have a favorite color and so he picked green. Now Bridget who used to insist on using the pink bowl or plate has switched to needing the green one in honor of Jim. Bridget likes to snuggle in his lap when he watches soccer and in the process of rooting along with him, she has become a West Ham United fan. Recently she said "When we have our next baby, we should name him West Ham." She adores him and says great things like "My Dada is funnier than my teacher." and "My Daddy is good at everything".

   Each of the girls have expressed this love to different degrees at different ages. I just found a 2nd grade journal entry of Rachael's that expressed how much she loves her Daddy and he has piles of love notes and pictures from them. The expression of their love grows more reserved as they get older but that intense need for his love and approval hasn't diminished in the least.