When
God Made Dads
When the good Lord was creating Fathers,
He
started with a tall frame.
An
angel nearby said "What kind of a Father is that?
If
you're going to make children so close to the ground,
why have you put the Father up so high?
He
won't be able to shoot
marbles
without kneeling,
Play
pretend drinking tea, and kiss dolly goodnight,
tuck
a child in bed without bending,
or even kiss a child without stooping"
God smiled and said,
"Yes, but if I make him child size,
who would children have to look up to?"
And when God made a Father's hands, they were large.
The angel said,"Large hands can't manage diaper pins,
small buttons, rubber bands on pony tails,
or even remove splinters caused from baseball bats."
Again
God smiled and said,
"I know, but they're large enough to hold
everything
a small boy empties from his pocket,
all
the paper dolls, sing songs, jump rope,
a daughter
could have
and
teach her to turn cartwheels.
yet
small enough to cup a child's face in them."
Then
God molded long slim legs and broad shoulders,
"Do you realize you just made a Father without a lap?"
The
angel chuckled.
God
said, "A Mother needs a lap.
A Father
needs strong shoulders to
pull a wagon, to balance a bicycle,
or to hold a sleepy head on the way home from the circus."
When God was in the middle of creating
the biggest body any one had ever seen,
the angel said, "That's not fair. Do you honestly think that form
is going to get
out of bed early in the morning when the baby cries,
or walk through a birthday party without
crushing one or two of the guests?"
God
again smiled and said,
"It will work. You will see.
It
will support a small child who wants to
ride
to Branbury Cross
or scare mice away from a summer cabin ,
or walk in shoes that will be a challenge to fill."
God
worked throughout the night,
giving the Father few words,
but a firm authoritative voice;
eyes
that see everything,
but
remain calm and tolerant.
Finally, almost as an after thought,
He
added tears. Then he turned to the angel and said,
"Now
are you satisfied he can love as much as a Mother can?"
The angel said nothing more.
