good nite

     Good Nite

I love you DAD good nite.

Its me    I Love to be with 

you.  This is wath I Want

frogs' tubes' gum' you'

you can't takem

go on.  Cats' Dogs' DaD'

but you have that go on' 

but thats it

I like you good nite

            The End

These are the words I found written on a notebook sitting on my daughter’s bed.  As I re-covered her with her blanket she stirred and said she was cold so I asked her if she had written it tonight. “uh huh” is about all I got but it was enough. We had a small “time for bed” conflict that did not end according to her will. It was 15 minutes later she came out of her bedroom apologizing to me for her behavior. Instantly my insides turned in to warm goo and I hugged on her and said it was ok. This letter totally messes with my understanding of myself as a father and as a child of God. We are so alike, her and I, and I need to remember that the next time one of us does not get our way.

I Love you Too, my precious Daughter