The Father's Day Showstopper

How do I know our daughter is going to be ok once the divorce dust settles?  Here's how.

Here's the gift I received for Father's day.

I was in my office this morning checking email, when the Mini-Pirate called down from upstairs, "Daddy! Go in the living room and sit on the couch."

"What's going on?" I called back up, skeptical.

"Just go sit there!  There's a surprise!"

I peered out from my office, into the living room.  The couch looked harmless.  There was no painted X on a particular spot, or a bullseye.  I looked up, but didn't see an anvil hanging from a fraying cord, or a bucket of pig's blood balancing precariously over head on a beam.  (Mini-P is still dealing with anger issues, at both Saucy and me.  Understandable.  Still.  Hence my misgivings about going to sit somewhere at her command.)

Saucy, upstairs, with the Mini-Pirate, called down to reassure me:  "Just go sit down.  It'll be totally worth it."

I went and sat, as instructed.  Moments later, Mini-P and Saucy made their entrance, elegantly descending the stairs.  My daughter was wearing: her favorite skull T-shirt, a showgirl feather in her hair, gigantic butterfly wings, and a pair of her mother's lace-up boots.  Saucy was wearing a jaunty scarf, and an expression of amiable chagrin.

It turns out that Mini-P wrote me a song for Father's Day.  I would find out later that she worked on it all day yesterday, and made Saucy rehearse it with her several times while they were at the grocery store.  In front of people.

I sat and witnessed something awesome.  This was not a half-hearted, self-conscious little non-performance.  This was Idol.  This was Best New Artist Grammy.  This was my daughter channeling Selena Gomez, her favorite famous person, currently touted as the Mariah of the current Tween Generation.  Only without the voluminous talent.  (Or slutty wardrobe, so that's a plus).

Move over, Selena. There's a new rockstar in town.

Right there in the living room, my daughter gave me the showstopping performance of a lifetime.  Not only that: her Mom totally delivered as her back-up singer.

It was a ballad, but I could tell that if there'd been a band backing her, it would've provided a solid, driving backbeat.  I did not have a video camera to record it, and I know that if I try to get them to recreate it on film, it won't be the same.  That's ok.

Afterwards, I received the lyrics.  Here's what my girl wrote and performed:


Ha-pp-y Father's Day
Thanks for all the care and love you give
every day of the wee-ee-eek
and the times that we get a little saa-aad.
You make us feel a whole bunch better.


(Mommy:  Shoo-bee-doo, Shoo-bee-doo)


I'm a little high strung
Just because I'm young
Daddy we adore ya
And we'll do anything for ya
Although some days do make us frantic,
with one single crazy antic,
and when we're bouncing off the walls
you're the one who stays caa-aalm.
Because you love us for who we are
We'll always love you-oouuuu Daddy!


(Mommy:  Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh)


And the crowd on the couch went wild.

And that's how I know things are going to be ok.