Life By Kristen

Daddy’s Little Girl

It’s a gorgeous, quiet, sunny fall Saturday morning and I am so content here enjoying it with my hot coffee and fresh Portuguese sweetbread. The sweetbread- courtesy of my awesome father- is one of the main reasons why I could never give up carbs. But I’ll save my love for all things bread for another day ( seriously, in my version of heaven it is one of the few food groups available).

Everyone knows I’m tight with my parents- my whole family really. I’ve written about them both before because my relationship with them has gotten better over time and in the past few tough years, they have been my rock.

It goes without saying that without my Dad, I would not be able to keep this house up on my own. Without him, the lawn would not get mowed ( my horrible allergies take over almost every time), the sunporch would not get scraped and painted, and a good portion of the things hung on my walls would probably have already fallen down ( as well as a piece of living room ceiling drywall). He saved my basement in the Great Flood of 2010, was the wallpaper whisperer in removing the pesky stuff in two rooms, and took care of the mouse issue on more than one occasion.

His handy and creative nature aside, our relationship has grown exponentially in the past few years. While we were always close growing up, I sought out the advice of my mom a lot in the teen years and often could not talk to my dad, but I’m so happy that that has changed. He frequently is the one with the best words of advice or wisdom for any given situation. I’ve come to see I’m so much more like him than I thought- from my particularness ( some may call it stubbornness) to our sense of humor ( he can still make me laugh like no other), I’m happy to be like him. In recent years, we both have come to grow into a new love of cooking ( and eating!) and that is something I have really come to enjoy, as well as all the hours working on the house and doing various projects together. Even writing about this all seems to fall short in trying to explain my love and gratitude for him.

He is one of the hardest working people I know- from his own business to the support he gives to our entire family on a daily basis. I worry about him constantly- something else I inherited from him since I know he worries about me and my brother too. Outsiders may think that our family is a bit too much all in each other’s business– and sometimes we are– but it’s out of a place of love and concern that I honestly feel is desperately lacking in today’s world.

My parents- neither my mom or my dad more than the other- have given so much- not just to my brother and me, but to their family, jobs, communities- that I want so much to give back to them tenfold. I know it will never be possible and that the cycle of life and family means that one day the roles will be reversed in terms of caring and nurturing. But in the mean time, we say I love you as much as we can ( something else the world needs more of today) and help each other out in the best ways we are able.

I often think of how my dad and I are today-doing house projects together- and it is the same thing I saw growing up with my grandfather and my dad at my childhood home. While the circumstances are far different, it is crazy how the more things change, the more they stay the same. And of course, I will always be Daddy’s little girl.