I’m So Lucky to Be the Father of Daughters

Reflections on the beautiful things that give us strength when we need it most

Image by Walter Rhein

Years ago I was sitting in a cafe after having dropped off my wife at work. It was one of those inexpensive breakfast places where you could get two eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee for a couple of bucks.

It was our practice to eat together a few days a week, though my daughters were probably too young to remember. The waitress was a kind, older woman who got to know us. My girls always seemed to enchant everyone everywhere they went.

The waitress would bring coloring books over. This was back when my girls had to gather up the crayons in pudgy fists. They always knew just what to do, and commenced coloring as if the rest of the world didn’t exist.

One time I was sitting there, soaking it all in, when a man stopped at my table.

“I raised two girls too,” he said. His eyes glittered and I could tell he was lost in memory. “You’re a lucky man. There are many beautiful things before you.”

Sometimes I wonder if he might have been a time traveler.

Sometimes I wonder if he might have been the future version of me.