GOOD NIGHT

Her first memory of her father…though she doesn’t know the year

was when he tucked her into bed one night and whispered ‘I love you’ in her ear.

From then it didn’t matter if he read her a Fairy Tale or helped her wipe away a tear

he’d always say good night by whispering ‘I love you’ in her ear.

And that memory has stayed with her to this day

It’s one she never will forget

for if there’s a better way to fall asleep at night…she hasn’t found it yet.

His fondest memory of his daughter is the day she tapped him on his back

and when he turned around she smiled and said, “Daddy, I love you back.”

And as she grew a little older…a memory he holds dear

is how she’d run up to him spontaneously just to whisper ‘I love you’ in his ear.

Even now when she has a family of her own at night the same memory appears

just before she closes her eyes she hears him whisper ’I love you’ in her ears

And when he closes his eyes he remembers the night she touched him on his back

the night he turned

the night she smiled

the night she whispered, ‘Daddy, I love you back.’

It’s a memory that has stayed with each of them …a memory neither will ever forget

for if there’s a better way to fall asleep at night…they haven’t found it yet.

And when it was time to say their final goodbye

As she held his hand she said, “Daddy I am here.”

then she tucked his blanket in to keep him warm

and whispered ‘I love you’ in his ear.

For she knew as a lifetime of memories

brought a smile to her face and tears into her eyes

the best way to say goodnight…

is also the best way to say goodbye