In Good Company: “I Miss You Too Much”

Recently, Heidi and Elaina were away for a few days visiting my family in Ohio.  On the first night after she returned home, I was putting her to bed, and she wanted a little extra attention. 

“Daddy lie down?” she asked, meaning that she wanted me to lie down on the pillows beside her toddler bed instead of just kissing her goodnight and leaving her room like normal. 

“Okay, sweetie.  Just for a little while.”

So, I’m lying on the pillows, and Elaina leans way out of bed, slowly, touching her head to mine, and says quietly, “I miss you too much.”

Sweetest thing ever, right?  A father-daughter moment to remember always.  Well, if I’d written this at the time it happened, the story would have ended on that note, and we could all move on, maybe with a little tear—or dust, maybe dust—in the corner of our eyes.

But I didn’t write it then.  So, the next day….

The next day, Elaina says, “I miss you too much” to Heidi. 

Okay, so our special moment isn’t unique.  That’s okay, a little girl can be sweet to her Mommy too.  That doesn’t diminish the significance of our moment last night, right?  But she wasn’t even away from Mommy, so she can’t really miss her….

A couple days later, Elaina and I are hanging out, having a snack or an after-lunch cookie or something, and Elaina says, “I miss cookies too much.”

Hmm….  Feeling a little less special at this point. 

In the end, I’ve decided that our moment was genuine, and if it wasn’t unique…well, at least with Mommy and cookies, I’m in good company.