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Hey Dad,

An incredibly deep thought hit me the other night while I was answering a pre-dawn call from my six-year-old daughter, Katherine. Nothing serious. I stroked her side, brushed the tangled hair from her face, kissed her cheek tenderly, told her I loved her, and tip-toed back to bed.

That's when the thought hit me: Your son might grow up to marry my daughter someday.

Back in bed, I wondered if your son will treat my daughter like a princess when they're married. Will he stroke her side and tell her how precious she is when he finds her crying after a hard day of mothering? Will he listen intently as she describes something that's important to her? Will her sparkling eyes make him smile or will he be more interested in reading the paper, working on the computer, or watching a ball game?

That's why I'm writing this. I want to make sure you're training your sons to treat my daughter like a princess, just in case some day they meet, get married, and have a family of their own.

Hope you don't mind, but I worked up a little list of things I'd like for you to address with my possible future son-in-law.

1. Train him to be involved with his family. He can't do his own thing.
2. Train him to be a good listener. Eye to eye—no distractions.
3. Train him to be gentle. No harsh words or roughness.
4. Train him to be able to say "I'm sorry"—even when he feels wronged.
5. Train him to have a real, growing relationship with God. He can't go it alone.
6. Train him to care more about loving his wife and raising his children than he does about his career.
7. Train him to be able to say "no" to his own desires and "yes" to hers.

I know I'm putting a lot on your shoulders, because your son (or future son) will learn most of these things by the way you treat your wife. Because your son will treat my daughter like you treat your wife. And so will my sons. (They might grow up to marry your daughters.)

You owe it to my princess, and I owe it to yours.

You 'da dad!

©Copyright Todd Wilson, 2003. Used by permission.

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