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Daddy Play With Me!
An Excerpt from the book Hidden Messages: What Our Words and Actions are Really Telling Our Children (McGraw-Hill, 2000)
By Elizabeth Pantley
The clock in Jeff's car glows 6:40 p.m. as he rolls into the driveway after another long and tiring day at work. He opens the door to his home with a weary sigh and drops the mail next to the answering machine, which is blinking in that incessant, anxious way that demands listening. All he wants is a relaxing evening with no bosses, clients, or coworkers to please.
He peeks into his wife's home office and greets her warmly. As they chat about their day, she asks if he'd mind fixing dinner so she can finish up a few things. "No problem," he assures her. Before heading to the kitchen, he pauses to savor a moment's peace, silently planning out the next few hours: check the mail, listen to messages, take a nice hot shower, change into sweats, fix a quick dinner...
"Hi, Daddy! Play with me?" Snapped out of his reverie, Jeff puts on a smile and bends to wrap a hug around the giggling little angel with the hopeful eyes. He twirls her around in big circles and plants kisses on her nose. "Hey, my little Lily-flower!" he croons. He buries his nose in her soft hair, loving the little-child feel and scent of her. Laughing with glee, Lily cherishes these sparkling moments in her daddy's arms; craving more, she implores, "Play with me?"
"Hey, punkin', I have some things to do; then we'll play later."
"Just a little while, Daddy?" she pleads with a smile. But looking at his face, she suddenly knows he'd never drop everything just for some silly play, but she can't help asking one last time. When the expected answer comes, she wanders off resignedly to watch the TV show that's always on at this time, always on for her when Daddy's not.