“Breathe in. Breathe out. And for goodness sakes, don’t freak out!” That’s what you say to your husband seconds before his teenage daughter walks into the room in her long sought after prom dress. Then you stand behind him and prepare to catch (or be flattened) if he faints when he sees his “little girl” looking like a young woman.
It really messes with your head when you see your cowgirl, blue jean and flannel shirt daughter who can usually be found smudged with dirt and grime or on the back of a horse, looking like a prim and proper lady in a long formal gown.
There she stood, eyes hopeful… does he approve/doesn’t he? I so love that it is not the approval of her prom date she was seeking, but her Dad’s. He initially caught his breath, his eyebrows went up and then a big smile spread across his face as he sweetly said, “You look absolutely amazing…now go to your room and stay there.”
Yes, he was just kidding…mostly, and I had already told him that locking her in her room until she was 30 was not a viable option.
One of the greatest pieces of advice my hubby ever received was that he needed to date his daughter. The special bond he has with her has allowed him the privilege to continue to speak into her life now that the “big stuff” of teen dating is part of her learning and processing.
And for us, this past weekend, the “big stuff” was prom, how to dress, who to attend the dance with, what function to be a part of after the dance and what was a reasonable time to be home. Each of these issues was discussed between the three of us and reasonable conclusions were agreed to and prom turned out to be a fabulously wonderful experience for our daughter.
And amazingly, for her father too. No smelling salts required.
(This post originally appeared at http://www.momlifetoday.com/ )
Leave a Reply