The Secrets I Keep From My Daughter

It was just past Christmas and I was visiting with my in-laws about how busy Santa had been.

I had stayed up for hours putting together our gift to my two-year-old daughter and as I recounted my labor, I saw out of the corner of my eye, the quizative look out of my niece’s eyes.

What was her uncle talking about? He must be nuts. He doesn’t deliver the gifts, Santa does.

It was at that moment that I realized what I had done. I had set off the apocalyptic, life altering realization that ends the age of innocence for children around the world.

I was the guy who had spoiled the secret of Christmas and I felt terrible. Luckily for me, her mom recovered and quickly drew her attention elsewhere.

Whew, close one.

Santa is just one of many secrets that parents everywhere keep from their children. How else could we glorify our parental authority without a few of those little secrets giving us some buffer room?

For me, parenting has been easy as a parent thus far.  Every day with my little one has been an adventure and she has learned so much. Up to this point though,  I haven’t had to worry about what I say or what I do because as long as I don’t take her favorite blankey away from her, I am pretty much superman to this kid.

As she grows I have noticed that she is coming to find out little by little that I have a few things I keep from her. These highly classified secrets, once unearthed, are sure to end my tenure as Superman leaving boring ol’ Clark Kent instead.

Here are 11 of them.

All of the photos in this article are by our amazing photographer, Christine Olson Photography. 

11. You were supposed to be a boy:

I’d like to say I always dreamed of having a girl. But what dad doesn’t envision their first born throwing the game winning touchdown to win the Big Game? When I found out that wasn’t in the cards for me (unless the NFL changes their current gender acceptance policies) I had mixed feelings. One thing is for sure though, I learned what it meant to have my heart completely melt, the moment I held my little girl for the first time. She may have supposed to have been a Ninja loving Linemen, but I am so grateful she’s my little princess instead.

10. “Because I said so” isn’t a good reason for anything:

Critical thinking is such an endangered species in our modern world. More often than not I am sure she will hear these words exit my mouth, but I hope she knows deep down inside that I am just full of crap. I want her to stick to her guns and stand up for what’s right, because those who do, seem to be persecuted nowadays. She’ll most likely call me on the carpet and I hope she has enough spunk in her to go toe to toe with big, bad Dad.

9. I learn more from Sesame Street than you do:

It amazes me how much smarter she is than I was at her age. She will accomplish wonders in her time and while she comes to me with questions about the world, I will always have Google in my back pocket to have my back. As long as I can, I will strive to look like I know what I’m talking about, but 90% of the time Elmo will know more about Algebra than I do.

8. Don’t like your veggies? Me Neither:

It’s a regular occurrence that parents make their children eat their veggies and then have a plate of nachos after they head off to bed right? It definitely is in our house.

No matter how green vegetables get, they’ll never taste as good as that Double Decker Widow Maker Burger from our favorite restaurant, but I’ll let her find that out when she grows up and her mom doesn’t know about it.

7. I count the mili-seconds to bed time:

I’d like to say that I spend all of my time enjoying playing kitchen or watching Frozen for the ha-zillionth time, but bed time sometimes just couldn’t come sooner. As a dad, days feel like years at times. After bed time is a magical time filled with Walking Dead episodes and “mommy and daddy” time. She’s cute but there is nothing cuter than a kid who’s sleeping. Seriously.

6. I am literally making stuff up as I go:

I’ll be honest, half the time I have no idea what’s going on. I walk in from work to be met with a tornado, a hurricane and a 9.0 earthquake all at once. What does any man do under those circumstances in which everything seems to be crumbling around him? He makes stuff up.

When she comes to me with boy trouble or bullies at school or anything else that is ahead of me, I am learning on the job and just hope I get it right at the end of the day. Being a dad doesn’t come with a manual and if you ever find one please let me know.

5. I plan on going to prison:

Whatever boy takes my daughter out on her first date, is in trouble. I will always let her think I want her to bring home a Prince Charming, but let’s get real, no one is ever going to be as cool as me. She’ll always think I like her boyfriends, but deep down, if and when any of them make her cry, I already have a shotgun loaded and a shovel at the ready.

4. Without your mom, we both would look like Oscar The Grouch: 

I am “that” dad that has put my daughter in a dress backwards because who knew the “style” was to have a zipper in the front? I am guilty of putting her in mismatched clothes and dirty socks on more than one occasion. And inside-out sweatshirts and uncombed hair is my forte.

Her mom knows everything we need to know about what to wear, how to do our hair and how to find our true smiles. My daughter is cute, but we definitely wouldn’t be the same without mom.

3. I may bark, but I’ve got no bite:

I’m a softy, plain and simple. I am the discipliner in chief in our little family which I think is hilarious because I may put up a tough front, but on the inside, those puppy dog eyes of hers just make me fall apart. When she was just learning to walk she got into our DVD’s and I raised my voice of concern. She looked at me with such betrayal and just melted into a puddle of tears. I about died. How could I make my princess cry?! I was a failure as a father. I can tell, I’m in trouble when the teenage years arrive.

2. You are my best bud:

I never understood why my parents never really had grown up friends that we hung out with while I was growing up until I became a dad. No offense to any of my friends, but she’s just so much cooler than you.

It’s true, I enjoy watching the game with the guys and picking up meat and putting it down again on a grill at a neighborhood BBQ as much as the next guy. Overall though, her babbled ramblings at the end of the day are better than any game of Madden ever could be.

1. I’m not perfect:

Life is full of lessons. One that has taught me the most is that we all have weaknesses.  As she gets older, she’s going to find cracks in my super armor and I am dreading the first time she points out to me that I said one thing and then did another. What’s important for her to know is that even though I’m not perfect, she is.

She is beautiful in every sense of the word. Sure, she’ll get a few bumps and scrapes along the way when she makes a mistake or two, but I’ll always be there to pick her up, brush her off and let her know how truly special she is.

Do you have a daughter? Don’t forget to share this if you share a few of these same secrets too!

Tyson is a contributing writer to Today’s the Best Day. He is a husband and father to two of the most beautiful girls on the planet. He loves, football, spending time with family and providing valuable content to help others have the best day every day.

Danielle is the owner of Today's the Best Day. She strives to provide creative and uplifting content in order to enrich the parenting experience for women everywhere. Danielle hopes to help you and your family to make every day the best day!

January 29, 2015 by Danielle Davis | 3 Comments