And This is Love... Daddy-Daughter Style!

I wish I had a picture for this entry, but I wasn't fast enough on the draw, so I'll go with this free clip-art pic and paint the picture with words.

I was driving through the Walmart parking lot in Colville, Washington and found myself tapped behind a car waiting for a parking spot. While stalled there, I witnessed a tiny yet poignant drama in the same parking lane. The two characters in the drama were a man and a young girl, I assumed they were father and daughter.

The dad looked to be in his mid-thirties. He wore jeans and a sleeveless t-shirt. His face sported a beard, and his bare arms and shoulders displayed an abundance of hardcore tattoos. He was muscular with a no-nonsense persona, the kind of guy you wanted to avoid in dark alleys. He walked with a gait that said, "Mess with me and I'll mess you up."

The daughter looked to be about six or seven. She was in shorts and a t-shirt, both pink, and wore her blonde hair in a bouncy ponytail. She walked in front of her dad, pushing the cart with a strut that said, "I'm big enough to push this thing all by myself."

Reaching their vehicle, dad and daughter worked together to unload the cart and fill up the trunk. Once that was accomplished, the daughter appeared to ask if she could take the cart to the shopping cart stall just up the way. Dad must have said yes because she took off with an eager step and steered the cart straight for it. Reaching the stall, she placed the cart against the back of the next one in line and pushed the two together, then made double-sure both carts were fully in the stall and not hanging out where they could damage someone's car. With her big-girl task accomplished, she skipped back to her father, once again a carefree child.

This is where the love comes in:

-First, the young lady's father allowed her to take on a responsibility that even some adults can't handle - PUTTING AWAY THE CART!

-Next, as the girl performed it, tough-guy dad stood in the lane, protecting his little girl from any car coming from behind. His eyes never left his daughter, protecting her from cars coming in front.

-Then the girl put the cart away properly, which indicates her daddy had taught her to care about others and to be responsible for her own actions.

-Then, when the girl turned away from her completed task, he smiled at her as she skipped back to him. It was the kind of smile that told the girl her father loved her and was proud of her, and the smile she returned carried an equal message.

-Finally, as the young lady neared his side, her dad held out his hand and she eagerly accepted it, which told me affectionate contact was normal in their relationship.

The car in front of me finally pulled into the long-awaited spot and I was forced to move on, but the beauty I had seen in that 20-second scenario, and the warmth it gave my soul, lingers even now. It was obvious to me that, in their home, whatever their circumstances, love was not a nebulous concept or an academic idea, but a real and practiced action demonstrated by the parent and embraced by the child. And that is as love should be.

Blessings,

Daniel W. Shegrud