My Dad's Shorts

Yesterday, I was rummaging through my dresser drawers, searching for something comfortable to put on.  The boys and I were going to hang around the house for a couple of hours, and I just wanted to be attired in something that I didn't have to suck my gut in to wear.  I came across an old pair of navy blue shorts, and I smiled - JACKPOT!  These are the most comfortable pair of shorts I own, and they are not really my shorts at all...

When I was pregnant with my first child, I was so close to the finish line, that my husband feared leaving me home alone.  So each of those last 14 days of my pregnancy, my mom would come pick me up and bring me back to her house.  One of those days, I was miserable in the clothes I had on.  I was hot and felt restricted.  Truthfully I was about to pop (literally), and simply needed bigger clothes.  But being in the homestretch, it did not make sense to buy more maternity clothes.  So my mom gave me a pair of my dad's shorts to wear.  They are 100% navy blue cotton, and on that day, they were heaven.  Not only was I able to breathe (and waddle), but I also found comfort in the fact that, as I was about to embark on the biggest adventure of my life, I was wrapped up in something that belonged to my daddy.

You see, I've always been a "Daddy's Girl".  For as long as I can remember, I've idolized my father - hurling him up on this tall pedastal, thinking there was no greater daddy in whole-wide world.  When I married my husband at the young age of 20 years old, it was a quite a shock to both my father and I that there was a new man who I loved more than any other.  I didn't expect the change it brought to our relationship, and it has taken the better part of my 13.5 years of marriage to cope with the difference. 

When I need guidance, I look to my husband.  When I need encouragement, I look to my husband.  When I need affirmation, I look to my husband.  When I need a hug, I look to my husband.  [Although I will argue that my dad gives the BEST HUGS in the entire world.  I mean seriously, he wraps his arms around me, and I can literally feel his love for me.]

I love my husband, but I miss my daddy. 

I guess that's why, when I unpack the summer clothes, I smile everytime I pull those shorts out of the box.  That's right, I never gave them back.  Sorry Daddy!  I'm keeping your shorts!  :)