SINCERELY SCOTTY by Walter Scott: Daddy’s Day

Daddy’s Day

As we enter Father’s day, I want to tell you a story about a little girl who didn’t have a “daddy”.  My father died in 1961.  I got married in 1960 and at some point in my life’s journey, I became the “daddy”.  So for all who have a “daddy”, maybe this story will make you appreciate him just a little more……………

Her hair was up in a pony tail, her favorite dress tied with a bow.  Today was Daddy’s Day at school, and she couldn’t wait to go. But her mommy tried to tell her, that she probably should stay home.

Why the kids might not understand, if she went to school alone. But she was not afraid for she knew just what to tell her classmates of why he wasn’t there today. But still her mother worried for her to face this day alone.

And that was why once again, she tried to keep her daughter home.  But the little girl went to school, eager to tell them all about a dad she would never again see.  There were daddies along the wall in back, for everyone to meet while the children squirmed anxiously in their seats.

One by one the teacher called a student from the class to introduce their daddy.  The seconds slowly passed.  At last the teacher called her name, every child turned to look at her while looking for a man who wasn’t there.  “Where’s her daddy at?” she heard a boy call out.  “She probably doesn’t have one, “another student said.  And from somewhere near the back, she heard a daddy say, “Looks like another deadbeat dad, too busy to waste his day.”
     The words did not offend her, as she smiled up at her Mom.  And looked back at her teacher, who told her to go on.  And with hands behind her back, slowly she began to speak.  And out from the mouth of a child, came words incredibly unique.
    “My Daddy couldn’t be here, because he lives so far away.  But I know he wishes he could be, since this is such a special day.  And though you cannot meet him, I wanted you to know all about my daddy, and how much he loves me.  He loved to tell me stories and he taught me to ride my bike.  He surprised me with pink roses, and taught me to fly a kite.  We used to share fudge sundaes, and ice cream cones.  And though you cannot see him, I’m not standing here alone.  ‘Cause my daddy’s always with me, even though we are apart; I know because he told me he’ll be in my heart forever”.

With that, her little hand reached up, and lay across her chest.  Feeling her own heartbeat beneath her favorite dress.  And from somewhere in the crowd of dads, her mother stood, tears streaming down her cheeks, proudly watching her daughter, who was wise beyond her years.   She had stood up for the love of a man no longer in her life.  And when she dropped her hand back down, staring straight into the crowd.  She finished with a soft voice, but its message was loud and clear.

“I love my daddy very much, he’s my shining star.  And if he could, he’d be here, but heaven’s just too far away.  You see, he was a policeman and died when the airplanes hit the towers and taught Americans about fear.  But sometimes when I close my eyes, it’s like he never went away.” And then she closed her eyes, and saw him there.  And to her mother’s amazement, she witnessed a room full of daddies and children, all starting to close their eyes.

Who knows what they saw before them; who knows what they felt inside.  Perhaps for merely a second, they saw him at her side.  “I know you’re with me, Daddy,” to the silence she called out.

And what happened next made believers of those who doubted.  Not one in that room could explain it, for each of their eyes had been closed.  But there on the desk beside her, was a fragrant long-stemmed pink rose.   And a child was blessed, if only for a moment, by the love of her shining bright star.  And given the gift of believing that heaven is never far away.

Someone once said it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them.  Happy Father’s Day.

Sincerely, Scotty

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