Michael Kasdan and his daughter Lauren share their favorite Daddy Daughter Moments and invite you to do the same.
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There is something sweetly wonderful about the relationship between a father and his daughter. Sure, there are the stereotypes of “Daddy’s little girl.” Her smile melts the tough exterior and brings out his warmth. His daughter is his ray of sunshine. His hug is strong and makes her feel safe and loved. Her father is her rock.
Here at the Good Men Project, we would like to delve a bit deeper, by collecting moments—favorite moments—from Dads and their daughters. It is through these moments that we can take a look into the depth and beauty of fathers and their daughters.
The genesis of this article lies in my nine-year old daughter, Lauren. Over the past year, she has seen me write a bunch of different articles for the Good Men Project. She is a big reader and budding writer herself, and she is genuinely interested in all of the topics. Often when I email my articles around to share with my family, she sends me back short encouraging notes peppered with blinking emoticons.
The other day she said that she wanted to write an article for the Good Men Project. I thought it would be fun if we wrote something together. And I started thinking that moments like these are special. This led us to write a piece focused on the Daddy Daughter relationship. So, here we are to share our favorite moments.
But this isn’t about the two of us, its about all of US. We want to hear from you, so we can collect the rich tapestry of moments into a multi-media essay. For details about how to submit your #DaddyDaughterMoments by email, Twitter, or Instagram, see below!
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Lauren’s favorite Daddy/Lauren Moments
These are some of my favorite moments. Sorry I didn’t pick just one.
(1) I like lying on Daddy’s back and watching YouTube videos together. Sometimes, we even make video parodies together.
(2) A couple other moments I like spending with Daddy are when I can catch a ride on the shoulder-up-to- bed train (a shoulder ride). Also, when we ran a 5K together. I got tired but he encouraged me to keep on moving. I like that about him.
(3) Another thing I like is when he supports my softball team by cheering, coaching, and/or just coming to my games. I like when he throws the ball around with me. It makes me feel happy and loved to have such a great dad!
He is the best Dad anyone would ever want. I don’t want any other Dad.
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Daddy’s favorite Lauren/Daddy Moments
Lauren is the most comfortable-in-her-own skin person I know, and she is wildly thoughtful, interested in the world, and entertaining. My favorite moments are simplest ones, the every day stuff. Lauren makes it easy to be myself around her, so the best times are when we goof around, sing, read, and write together.
Three “moments” stand out, so let me submit all three:
(1) The day that Lauren took out her portfolio of stories she had written that school year, and read each one to me. She is an engaging story-teller and her writing is a mixture of sweet, insightful and hilarious.
(2) The day we spent in NYC, exploring the Museum of Modern Art. Lauren professed her favorite artist to be “Vin Van Gogh,” and I thought this would make a perfect day together. I hadn’t considered how insanely funny halls of nude pictures and sculptures would be to a seven year old, but there we were, enjoying the art, but also cracking up and taking goofy pictures in front of the Picassos.
(3) Every night: I squeeze her hair out after she showers. She wears my big t-shirts as nightgowns. Reading stories in bed; we alternate paragraphs. I arrange her stuffed animals and tuck them all into bed. We snuggle before bedtime. And, when she is too tired to snuggle, she pushes me away: “Too tired for snuggles.” Sweet dreams.
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Submit Your Own #DaddyDaughterMoments!
The Good Men Project invites you to join our conversation. Now its time for you to submit your Daddy-Daughter Moment. All submissions may be featured on our site.
If you’d like to send it via email, please submit your letter to Michael Kasdan at [email protected]. Feel free to include pictures or video as well.
If you prefer to tweet? Stay tuned. We’re going to be tweeting out “If there is one daddy-daughter moment that you treasure, we want to hear from you” Tweet @goodmenproject using #DaddyDaughterMoments with your responses. We’ll feature your tweets in an upcoming article on the site.
Want the artistic expression and instant satisfaction of Instagram? Find us there at GoodMenProject and share your pictorial message using #DaddyDaughterMoments.
You’re also welcome, of course, to share your comments and thoughts below in our comments section.
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Photo Credit: Author
Attentive and understanding, plus the beef stock recipe. Tough to beat. 🙂
Where do I begin? I’m 37 and my dad is still my biggest supporter. He’s open-minded, attentive, listens and offers sound advice in this changing, freaky world. He knows the same rules no longer apply to when he was growing up, because I’m still growing up… and he’s still my dad.
I don’t know anyone else who’s got such a loving understanding father as mine. I’m grateful for his patience, generosity, insight and for finally sharing his beef stock recipe with me. I love you dad.
Edie – That’s beautiful. Thanks for sharing with us…
I have many and some I have written about for GMP. My dad taught me to ride a bike, roller skate, fly a kite, plant gardens, change a tire, open my heart, work hard (that was a mixed blessing as I wrote about in my most recent GMP article:) take pride in my work, have a willingness to be vulnerable. We butted heads a bit in my adolescence, but we came to understand each other. In his later years, we spoke more about spirituality, love, being of service, leaving a legacy. He loved fiercely and with a sense of devotion… Read more »