A Date with Dad

By: L.A. Kohl
July 6, 2006
(published in the July 12, 2006 edition of "The Bullseye")
I didn’t really have the time to honor my husband this past Father’s Day like I wanted to. We were too busy with ministry related stuff…so Father’s Day slipped by without much time or attention on my part.

Now I’d like to remedy that a little bit by bragging about what my husband is up to tonight.

It all began a few weeks ago, when Nate came to me and said, “I think I’m going to take Bethany on a date July 7 – opening day of “Pirates of the Caribbean II.”

Actually, maybe it all started much farther back than that. Our oldest daughter and one of her good friends had asked their dads to take them out to eat, rather than paying them for a cleaning job they had tackled together. So, they all got dressed up and the four of them went to a very nice restaurant to eat – a “double date” so to speak.

Thus, daughter number two has been wondering for years…when is dad going to take her and her friend, and her friend’s dad, on a double date? After all – he did it for the firstborn, so shouldn’t the second born get equal treatment?

That’s what led to Nate and I heading to the movie theater in Columbia last week. We bought four advance tickets to the 12:01 AM showing (that’s about as early on July 7th as you can get!) of POTC II. Whether it’s a good movie or not, I don’t know. But Bethany is the biggest “Capt. Jack Sparrow” fan I’ve ever met…so no matter what, she’ll think it’s awesome.

And I personally think her dad is awesome for caring about what she enjoys; being willing to sacrifice some time and money (and sleep!) in order to involve himself in her interests. As you can see by the picture, he REALLY involved himself! They were quite the pair as they left in their pirate outfits, headed to pick up her friend and her dad, so they could go eat at…Long John Silver’s, of course! And then go stand in line for an hour or two at the movie theater, so they’d be sure to get four good seats all together.

Maybe a father/daughter date is a new concept to some of you; but it’s a concept that fathers of little girls should consider. Call it a father/daughter “outing” if you prefer; what you call it doesn’t matter – but what it is matters greatly.

A teenage young lady needs to know that her dad cares about her; that her father thinks she is valuable, precious and worth some of his time. If she doesn’t “feel” those things from her father, then she’s likely to go looking for those things from some other male figure. Unfortunately for some girls, it’s the first boy who comes along who happens to look twice at her, and the majority of the time, that boy doesn’t have her best interest at heart.

Anyway – enough with the psychology stuff. That wasn’t the point of this article. The point was this: I have some very blessed and self-confident daughters who have one of the most awesome dads in the whole world!

Of course, that’s just my own personal “view” – but it’s a view worth bragging about once in awhile. Thanks Nate, for making time for your girls.