I have typically had the responsibility and gift of calming Annie when she was upset since she was a baby. Annie was only several months old when I started taking her out to the deck and swaying back and forth with her. The wind would blow and the redwoods would sway like we were. They would travel about 100 feet side to side at the tops. I would tell her that the trees were dancing for her. When this started she was too small to really be able to focus on the trees, but she would immediately calm down. We did this the first few years of her life.

It was always special. I would walk into Annie's room, and she would be standing in her crib, and bouncing in anticipation of my arrival. We would go out and see the dancing trees before I gave her breakfast.

Now flash forward until she is almost ten. She made me a Father's Day card. She described various things that she perceives of me, but the one that was the most taken to heart was about my voice...

My Daddy's voice is like the Trees Dancing...

It practically brought a tear to my eye. I chose to accept this as 'my Daddy's voice calms me.' Heck, I almost tear up writing about it.


Just want to be a good daddy...