And then the phone rang….
She picked it up and the voice that met hers was warm and as familiar as her own name. It was her first love, the first man who had ever held her in his arms and kissed her.
Her dad.
She quickly forgot her list of to-do’s and leaned into the sound of his comforting voice.
Normally, he would call to check in and catch up. Sometimes there would be a specific need or piece of news to be shared.
But not today.
Today’s call involved the strongest man she knew saying the softest and sweetest thing she’d ever heard him say:
“I’m so proud of you.”
It was not so much the words themselves. She’d heard that phrase multiple times from him in her life.
No. It was beyond the words. It was the context wrapped around the beautiful sound of those words being caught in emotion.
He had read her work. He knew the risk she was taking. He understood that each timid step would be a small victory and that the threat of failure would be looming over her busy little head every time she moved forward.
He had been there once, too.
And he was proud of her.
And suddenly, she was not so afraid.
Thank you, Daddy. I love you….
