To My Daughter

I wake to the sound a small tired voice crying in the other room. I quietly, as not to wake my wife, leave the room and walk down the hall to the baby girls room. I open the door and see her four year old body sitting up in bed quaking.
"Bad dream" she says.
"There there baby girl, I'm here. I'll protect you."
She comes to my arms and I hold her tight. I can see her already beginning to fall back into the silent arms of sleep. I carry her to her bed and softly, ever so softly tuck her in, and sing:
"If you leap awake
In the mirror of a bad dream
And for a fraction of a second
You cant remember where you are
Just open your window
And follow your memory upstream
To the meadow in the mountain
Where we counted every falling star

I believe the light that shines on you
Will shine on your forever
And though I cant guarantee
There's nothing scary hiding under your bed
I'm gonna stand guard
Like a postcard of a Golden Retriever
And never leave till I leave you
With a sweet dream in your head

I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter more than I love you

Trust your intuition
Its just like going fishing
You cast your line
And hope you get a bite
But you don't need to waste your time
Worrying about the market place
Try to help the human race
Struggling to survive its harshest night

I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter more than I love you

I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter more than I love you"

After she falls asleep I stay and watch as her tiny body takes in each breath, and I marvel that God could have granted a blessing as beautiful and wonderful and this Little Angel to a man such as me.

I may not be the best father, or the funnest, but daughter of mine there will never be a father that loved his daughter as much as I will love you. I promise that. I will do what I need to, to become the father, friend and protector that you need and deserve. You will be loved more than I can ever and will ever be able to express. The love I feel for you now, however far away you might be, is more than I ever thought possible. I love you forever and always my Little Angel.