Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Hard Candy

I had in mind a theme for this post that I suspect will come out a bit sappy. However, I felt a certain kind of internal prompting to write this in order to express a bit of my heart. I think it will also reflect a bit on how I view relationships, in particular, my relationship with my daughter. Likely, those who know me well will not learn anything new about me through reading this post, but hopefully there is a knowing smile of recognition here for everyone.

Each Sunday when my daughter and I go to church, I always put two hard candies in my pocket. After the music is done playing and we take our seats to listen to the pastor's sermon, I pass a candy to my daughter. I hold the second one back until she has unwrapped hers and placed it into her mouth. Only then will I take the second one for myself. My reason for delaying is that I have a backup in hand should my daughter drop her candy when opening it. I bring the candies for us to enjoy together, but I really bring them because I know they make her happy. Whether I enjoy one too is not the primary issue. This simple act is just a way that I show my daughter how much I love her, knowing full well that she doesn't know what I am up to. I sometimes smile to myself as she unwraps her candy knowing that one day when she has a child of her own, she will come to know these simple and silent expressions of love too.