Daddy's Little Girl

Setting: This morning. The living room. Three year old Gracie is watching PBS kids and eating an apple. Will is straightening his tie before leaving for work. He bends down and gives Gracie kisses.

Will: Who loves you?

Gracie: Daddy does!!

Will: And how much does Daddy love you?

Gracie: A few million dollars!


There is no denying that Gracie is Daddy's little girl. She has been since before she was born. She was so rotten to me while I was pregnant with her. I was constantly sick and constantly kicked. And after a grueling 24 hour labor which resulted in an unexpected and very painful c-section, Gracie was passed over to my husband and given her first bottle while I spent three hours in recovery without even getting a chance to see her, let alone hold her.

Gracie turns three in a couple of days and I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that she loves and adores me. She is my very sweet and affectionate Prima Donna, and knows that when she is sad or sick or needs someone to pass her some stickers and a colored pencil, Mommy is the one to get the job done.

However, her big baby blues are still always fixed upon her beloved Daddy. They always have been and I'm sure they always will be. I don't mind, of course. Not when I know how much Will adores her back. There is nothing quite as sweet as a big strong Daddy with his three year old princess.

And anyway, I'm pretty sure that if she does get that few million dollars, she'll share with some of it with me. I am, as she says, her "precious sweet darling mama," after all.