Beautiful essay and a beautiful family. God bless you and yours! My sister had two daughters before they had a boy--they can be just as much a handful in different and unique ways. Really enjoyed the line "I'm doing all these things so she doesn't fall for the first idiot who buys her flowers"--very well said.
I’m so grateful we have friends who have toddler boys because yeah I feel like I’ll still be thrown for a loop but at least we’ll have had SOME exposure to the sheer strength of the desire to jump off all the furniture lol
“I’m setting the bar high so she knows she’s worthy of a man that pursues her. But most importantly, of a man after the heart of God.” Amen!
I love this essay so much, Walther. Praise God for all of your healthy children. I have two girls now. One who will be three this month and the baby who is just over three-months-old now, so I am very much identifying with your goal of here in setting the bar high. And I’m here for any advice you have as you’ve been at it longer than I have.
I’ve not read either Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters or The Story of a Soul but I’ll add them to my ever-growing list.
My favorite Disney princess is probably Belle. She handles her own with the beast so well. And strong arguments could be made for Beauty and the Beast of having the best Disney music. My oldest daughter will often wear her yellow Belle dress and refuse to be addressed by her actual name, Katherine. It’s adorable but kinda of challenging when asking her to do something.
Don’t tell your daughter about the song. She’ll find out when she’s older and love what you did.
The best advice I have so far is model behavior for how your daughters ought to expect to be treated. Also, love your wife. Your girls will learn how relationships ought to be from the examples they're expose to.
And those two books are stellar, can't recommend them enough.
It would be difficult for me to decide which Disney movie has the best music. I've seen Beauty and the Beast and Lion King on Broadway and man, those are good shows. But Aladdin also has a special place in my heart.
Beautiful essay and a beautiful family. God bless you and yours! My sister had two daughters before they had a boy--they can be just as much a handful in different and unique ways. Really enjoyed the line "I'm doing all these things so she doesn't fall for the first idiot who buys her flowers"--very well said.
I've heard that having a boy after having girls is more of a shock than the other way around. Boy energy is something else.
And yeah, my girls won't be impressed by the Trader Joe's bouquet some rando gives her. She's a Costco flower bouquet kind of gal, at minimum.
I’m so grateful we have friends who have toddler boys because yeah I feel like I’ll still be thrown for a loop but at least we’ll have had SOME exposure to the sheer strength of the desire to jump off all the furniture lol
“I’m setting the bar high so she knows she’s worthy of a man that pursues her. But most importantly, of a man after the heart of God.” Amen!
I love this essay so much, Walther. Praise God for all of your healthy children. I have two girls now. One who will be three this month and the baby who is just over three-months-old now, so I am very much identifying with your goal of here in setting the bar high. And I’m here for any advice you have as you’ve been at it longer than I have.
I’ve not read either Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters or The Story of a Soul but I’ll add them to my ever-growing list.
My favorite Disney princess is probably Belle. She handles her own with the beast so well. And strong arguments could be made for Beauty and the Beast of having the best Disney music. My oldest daughter will often wear her yellow Belle dress and refuse to be addressed by her actual name, Katherine. It’s adorable but kinda of challenging when asking her to do something.
Don’t tell your daughter about the song. She’ll find out when she’s older and love what you did.
Thank you for reading, Derek!
The best advice I have so far is model behavior for how your daughters ought to expect to be treated. Also, love your wife. Your girls will learn how relationships ought to be from the examples they're expose to.
And those two books are stellar, can't recommend them enough.
It would be difficult for me to decide which Disney movie has the best music. I've seen Beauty and the Beast and Lion King on Broadway and man, those are good shows. But Aladdin also has a special place in my heart.
Just read the book “strong fathers, strong daughters.” Thanks for the suggestion. I am definitely being more intentional about parenting my girls now!
That's what's up.
St. Teresa became a nun and a saint by the Lord working through her father. You'll have to escort your little flower to Rome then.
That can be arranged
Walther she’s absolutely PRECIOUS!! Tagging James in a restack of this one because I know he’ll enjoy reading and discussing :)
Forgot to mention, Meg Meekers book was the first thing (of many!) that our Opus Dei pediatrician recommended to us.
Favorite Disney princess is belle, for sure, and no, never tell her it’s actually Maria! Let her think the play has it wrong 😂
Thank you! I'm looking forward to see what James thinks of this.
Belle is a great choice. I identify with the baker telling the wife to bring the baguettes.
My plan with West Side Story is to sit her down and watch it together when she's older and see if she notices.