New Laptop

Today I cooked for my daughter. We sat down to dinner, just the two of us. By some unexplainable miracle, my talented and industrious girl has just finished her sophomore year in college with some money in her bank account. She has been asking me to help her pick out a laptop but we’ve both been so busy with the end of school. Now, with a big sigh and a little time, she said, “Hey Dad, do you think we can go look now?” I said, “Yeah, let’s go today.” Then I told her that there was something about this that made me a little sad. “What, Dad?” “Well, when your brother started college and you were about to, I told you I wanted to get each of you a laptop. Now you are halfway through and he is almost done, and I haven’t been able to give either of you one. I feel like such a poor provider.” Then she rocked my world.

“I don’t even remember that, Dad. Besides, you have provided lots of things other dad’s don’t. You haven’t bought me much stuff, but you help me figure things out and find things for me. You fix all kinds of stuff when it breaks. You keep fixing my car. Most people would just tell you to take it in and get charged $200 for every dumb little thing. You have saved me so much money, so see, you really did get me a laptop.”

I just totally lost it right on the spot. Tears went flying over my dinner and I sobbed. She jumped up, put her arms around me and we had a good cry together.

We calmed down and finished our pork chops. Then loaded into her little convertible (completely paid for by her) and headed off to Best Buy. She punched the button on the CD player and out sang James Taylor, “shower the people you love with love…”