A Southern girl will always need her daddy

I made this for Meme Friday in honor of my dad, Charles Caldwell, who died in 2008 at the age of 68. When he died, I was 42 years old and I was an orphan. Funny how no matter how old you are, when your parents are gone, you feel adrift, like you’re swimming without a life jacket. I felt especially alone because Dad had been a father to Baby Girl since her father died when she was 2, and he was also my greatest support when I was a struggling single mom.

Unlike many fathers, my dad never tried to tell me what to do. He just supported my choices, and then helped me through the consequences of my choices, whatever those turned out to be. He was quiet but always present, he was gentle but strong in his support, he was silly but he never laughed at me.

I had gone from calling him “Daddy” to “Dad” by my teen years and then when Baby Girl was born, he became “Pop.” But somehow the day he died, in my mind he was “Daddy” again, I guess because I felt like an orphaned little girl.

I miss him and Mom every single day. I can only hope I’ve passed along some of Dad’s silliness and strength to Baby Girl.

Oh, and here’s a little gift from my dad to you, a very silly verse he taught me and Baby Girl when we were young:

The Fight of Two Dead Boys

One bright morning in the middle of the night,

Two dead boys began to fight;

Back to back, they faced each other

Drew their swords and shot each other;

The deaf policeman heard the noise 

and came to kill those two dead boys;

If you don’t believe my story’s true

Ask the blind man

He saw it too.

Love you always, Dad.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHARE THE MEME