Not only am I the founder and president of the Daddys Do Cry Club, I am also the number client. Dads will know what I'm talking about. This was the week we dropped off the youngest of our daughters to begin her higher educational career. It seems just like yesterday the tears shed were for their birth. I'll never forget that first day of February, 1980 when I heard the cries of our firstborn, a little pink bundle of wails in a mobile bassinet as the doctor brought her over to me after only 22 hours of labor and an immediate C-section when the doctor determined she was too big to be born naturally. He opened the lid of the bassinet and I reached in to touch her and asked her why she was crying. She immediately stopped because she knew my voice! This was repeated two more times. The fourth and last time, the doctors had determined that dads could be present in an operating room for C-section deliveries. They may have rethought that policy as this dad as soon as Caitlin was pulled from mom and handed over to the pediatrician, got up from his assigned seat following her with a video camera. The nurses freaked and ordered me back to my seat. The videos don't quite capture the tears shed at all four of those blessed events.
This is the fourth drop off of daughters on the campus of a university. The first was difficult even though we had moved 110 miles from the campus. Still, the thought of leaving my oldest, Nellie, at my alma mater was a tough thing. I cried most of I-35 from Georgetown to San Antonio. The second, Sarai, had us drive all the way to Troy, New York. We left her on the campus of RPI and I cried all the way to Virginia. That traffic up there makes for a tough challenge to drive while crying. Carli was dropped off at Texas Lutheran and the drive from Seguin to San Antonio is only some thirty miles or so, but the ground saw what it hasn't seen in some time: moisture. Now, it's on the campus of Texas Woman's University that our baby is making her debut as a university student.
I trust God and I know the Lord is with them, but a human body can only do so much governed by a very creative and imaginative mind! Prayers have been and will be lifted up, but the thought of one less person around most afternoons, evenings, and nights makes for a difficult image. But to God be the glory for opportunities for our children to better themselves and fulfill the dreams of so many who came before us. It was always my dad who told us to get an education so that we would not have to work as hard as he had. I know he meant working in jobs where the demands and the rewards were not equal; where the conditions were not always stable nor pleasant.
Prayer: I praise You, Lord for this opportunity You've given my baby to begin her education. You know her heart and the call she feels on her life to serve You and I pray Your rich and wonderful blessings upon her. May she serve You on this campus as an example of Your love. May You protect her from all harm and evil is my prayer. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
