It was one of those awkward moments that all fathers with daughters dread. A simple conversation with my daughter regarding some of her new back-to-school clothes took a sudden turn down a road that was both unexpected and yet inevitable.
“Do you like this outfit?” my 10-year-old asked.
“Yes, honey,” was my reply.
“Oh, and I got a new bra too,” she added.
Ummm, wait a minute, what? Did I just hear that part correctly?
My daughter then went into excruciating (for me) detail describing her new garment, which made me want to jump out of the living room window. It was a revelation that I have been putting out of my mind for the last few years. My baby is growing up.
How did this happen? Where did the past 10 years go? Where was the baby girl that we used to bathe in the kitchen sink?
I should have seen it coming. The signs were all there. Just a few weeks earlier, my daughter and I were out shopping for a birthday present for my wife. She stopped to look at a pair of shorts, which to me looked more like a bathing suit due to its lack of actual material.
“Can I get these?” she asked innocently enough.
“No chance!” was what blared in my mind as I pictured her wearing super-short shorts. But I took a moment to reflect and then decided to take the easy route out. “We’ll have to ask your mother,” is what I came up with. That strategy seemed to work as we were quickly back on the task at hand.
The changes have been rather subtle. I noticed my name had changed from “Daddy” to simply “Dad” in our conversations. I was amazed at how just dropping two little letters had such a large impact on me. It was like a lead weight had been thrown at my stomach.
Also, the door to her bedroom is now shut whenever she is getting dressed, which is understandable.
Her tastes in television programs have changed as well. We have always monitored what shows our children watch to make sure there was nothing inappropriate. The days of Barbie movies and Disney princesses have been replaced with programs showing teenager (or pre-teens) in live-action comedies. They are still family-oriented, but it’s not the same (at least to me).
It is likely to be as difficult of a transition for me as it is for her. After all, to me she is still the little baby my wife and I doted on so many years ago.
Every time I vacuum the rugs, I can hear my little girl’s 2-year-old voice in my head as she proudly proclaims “All Done!” when I turn it off. It was something she always said whenever I finished vacuuming the rugs and it remains in my head all these years later.
It really is just the beginning, I know. Even more difficult (and uncomfortable) conversations are likely on the way in the next few years. But that doesn’t make it any easier. No father wants to think that “Daddy’s Little Girl,” is growing up.
Joseph Cyr is a staff writer for the Houlton Pioneer Times. He can be reached at pioneertimes@nepublish.com or 532-2281.
