Date night for Tim and his girls

The girls' dresses all laid out and ready for the dance....

            Tonight my wonderful husband is going out on a date.  He will dance the night away and feast on special treats, and I will not be with him.  

He will be spending the evening with three very beautiful young ladies who adore him as much as I do and I am not one bit upset about it.  It is the annual Father-Daughter dance at our church and, as they have for the past four or five years, my little girls will dress in their best party dresses and be taken out and treated like princesses by their daddy.   It is one of our favorite traditions for Valentine’s Day.  

It said on the flyer that the organizers passed out after Masses the past few weekends:

            “We began hosting the Father-Daughter Valentine dance with the goal of creating a ministry to emphasize the importance of father-daughter relationships.  The hope is that fathers (and father figures) can help to set a dating standard by showing their daughters how they should expect to be treated on a date.  That mission is being accomplished in addition to having lots of fun!”

            How awesome is that?!?!?!?   And it is so true.  I tell my girls all the time that they should pray God will send them husbands who will treat them as well as their father treats me.  I hold Tim up as an example all the time and tell my girls they should settle for nothing less than a man who will honor them and respect them and love them completely.  I can think of no better way to encourage that, than to let them be the object of that honor and respect and love as their daddy’s date for the Valentine dance.   Of course, since we have three girls they have to share daddy at the dance……. but I am pretty sure they understand that on a date with a real suitor someday (in thirty years or so), they alone should be treated with honor and respect.

            My girls are all still (way) too young to really be thinking about dating or how a man should treat them or what to look for in a husband but it is never too early to set a standard and give a positive example of what a Christ-centered relationship looks and feels like.   

            So my girls and my husband will all set off this evening for a night of fun together that will hopefully remind our daughters of their beauty and dignity as the princesses (daughters of the one true King of all heaven and earth) they are.  

            And me?  I will be just fine at home, with my own dates.  My two charming boys and I will be having a party of our own complete with ice cream sundaes and games. After all, the girls and daddy should not have all the fun!