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I have three daughters. All three of them beautiful, BEAUTIFUL girls. And I don’t think there is any topic able to choke me up faster than the topic of my daughters.

We just enjoyed a very special “Daddy Night Out” this past Saturday night. The four of us drove up to the mountains west of Fort Collins and enjoyed a father-daughter dance. It was an extremely special evening. Technically, it was a western-themed dance — country attire was encouraged. However, I am about as un-country as one can get. So, it’s likely no one mistook me for John Wayne this past Saturday night. That said, I did wear blue jeans which likely allowed me to get past the bouncer upon entry.

Throughout the dreamy evening they played six slow songs. Those were my daughter’s favorites. They loved having that close more-meaningful sort of dance with Daddy. I loved it too. We rotated through the girls and, as if it were choreographed just for our family, each daughter had two slow dances with Daddy throughout the evening. It was magical … perfect.

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It was magical … perfect.

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On the way home, we replayed some of the girl’s favorite daddy-daughter slow dance songs in the car and relived the beautiful moments from the Buckhorn Dance. We replayed “Cinderella” by Steven Curtis Chapman, “Dance with My Daughter” by Jason Blaine, and “Butterfly Kisses” by Bob Carlisle — and all the songs had the same exact storyline:

Daughter is little.
Daughter is Daddy’s girl.
But Daughter, for some reason, can’t stay little.
Daughter starts growing up way, way, WAY too fast.
And as she grows, her relationship with Daddy — though it changes — never loses its specialness and its beauty.
Then Daughter does the worst thing imaginable.
Daughter finds another man (other than Daddy) that she falls in love with.
This new man proposes to Daughter.
Daddy struggles to find his place in the story.
Wedding day arrives and Daddy has to let his baby girl go.
But Daughter still cherishes Daddy as song ends.
And Daddy, obviously, goes and writes a song about all this emotional difficulty.

These are songs that make every Daddy cry.

I don’t know if father-daughter dances are more for the daddys or for the daughters. I’m betting that they are equally valuable for both, just in very different ways.

Of course, I’ve never attended one of these shindigs as a daughter. I only can look at it through the lens of the father. But, as a father, these special nights do something for me. They freshly highlight the value of these little munchkins. They remind me that time is short and that every moment in this parenting adventure counts. They shout at Eric Ludy and say, “Eric, don’t waste these years!”

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Every moment in this parenting adventure counts.

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I’m still yet to run into a father that concluded that kids grow up way too slow.

Something in the human make-up causes us to think 18-20 years is a long time, when in fact it’s the blink of an eye.

I thank God for Buckhorn Dances that promote father-daughter relationships with Jesus Christ squarely at the center. I thank God for the reminder that I don’t yet need to write the tear-jerker song about giving my daughter away. Right now, I still have them at home. Right now, I still have an opportunity to do this even better. Right now, I have the privilege of sharing my love with them. O Lord! Help me do this right!

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