Wanna skip?

Thursday is my oldest daughters birthday. She will be 48 years old and it doesn't seem possible that my baby is 48.

It's not that I haven't wondered about what it would be like when she got to this age. I started wondering about it when she was a toddler and I would pick her up in my arms and squeeze her and let her know how much I loved her.

Then my mind wanders some more I think about when she was 6 years old and I would ask her if she wanted to skip. I'd grab her hand and like two 6 year old kids we'd skip down the street. We skipped for years playing this silly game that super glued our hearts together.

Then before I knew it she was 15. Still my biggest pal. Heck, we went fishing and sporting events and all kinds of stuff throughout the years. She didn't want to go to those things. She wanted to be with Dad and I wanted to be with her.

I bought a 280Z and we'd cruise. Pop and baby girl! Whatta ride this was and the ride of our lives as we hung together. I noticed she was still shy and didn't date. But heck, who cared, we were pals. Then she started hanging with some girlfriends and I was happy she did. She needed to get out of her shell.

One day I called her and asked her if she wanted to skip. She said, "Awww Dad! Remember that?"

How could I forget a precious game with a precious daughter. I couldn't and I wouldn't....forever. We laughed and later down the road things progressed to her meeting this wonderful man named Matt. They got married and on her wedding day as we waited for me to walk her down the aisle my baby turned around and said, "Wanna skip"?

A lump swelled in my throat but I didn't want to cry with happiness because in a few minutes she would be with her new husband. And I didn't want to take anything away from that moment.

She now lives in Oregon and I live in California. But what the heck! It's time to go see her and her fasmily for a skip on her birthday!!!!!