“In order to be successful as a woman, teach your daughter to never apologize for her success. Men never have to apologize for it, why should the women who earned it? – Raising A Strong Daughter: What Fathers Should Know by Finlay Gow JD and Kailin Gow MA”

“A daughter becomes a clearer reflection of her mother with time.”

“Mama said it’s probably because of Suzanne, and that you are never the same after a child dies. That made me wonder what she was like before Clover died, because I don’t think I really knew my own mother until I had children, and if she was different before, I don’t remember.”

“A daughter always fills the house with beauty, color, love, joy, and laughter.”

“My daughter is my present, my passion, and the miracle of my life.”

“Every time my daughter smiles or calls me daddy, those are the sweetest sounds of my life. It is heavenly joy.”

“Our daughter is a princess in our world; she is our love, laughter, joy, and treasure.”

“He wipes tears off my face and then snot. He uses his hands. He loves me that much.”

“Religion, n. A daughter of Hope and Fear, explaining to Ignorance the nature of the Unknowable.”

“Dear Princess, One day you will stand in the mirror to see the woman that you have become, your beauty would drown your scars, your victories would be more than your battles, you will finally see yourself through the eyes of the father. Pay attention to the process, God’s process is as good as the outcome HE pursues.”

“There are three people you will be judged heavily on how you treat them in this lifetime. For the man, it is his mother for giving him life, his wife for showing him life, and his daughter for teaching her all that he has learned from life. For the woman, it is her father for giving her the seed of life, her husband for showing her life, and her son for teaching him all that she has learned from life. How a person treats their parents is how they show their gratefulness to the Creator for life. How a husband and wife treat each other is how they show the Creator how well they do with this gift of life, and how well they value and honor the sacred oath they made before him. Yet most importantly, a married couple must show they understand His purpose for Creation, which is to love each other unconditionally and cultivate more life to love.”

“The sound of thunder awake me, and when I got up, my feet sank into muddy water up to my ankles. Mother took Buster and Helen to high ground to pray, but I stayed behind with Apache and Lupe. We barricaded the door with the rug and started bailing water out the window. Mother came back and begged us to go pray with her on the hilltop. “To heck with praying!” I shouted. “Bail, dammit, bail!”Mom look mortified. I could tell she thought I’d probably doomed us all with my blasphemy, and I was a little shocked at it myself, but with the water rising so fast, the situation was dire. We had lit the kerosene lamp, and we could see the walls of the dugout were beginning to sag inward. If Mom had pitched in and helped, there was a chance we might have been able to save the dugout – not a good chance, but a fighting chance. Apache and Lupe and I couldn’t do it on our own, though, and when the ceiling started to cave, we grabbed Mom’s walnut headboard and pulled it through the door just as the dugout collapsed in on itself, burying everything.Afterward, I was pretty aggravated with Mom. She kept saying that the flood was God’s will and we had to submit to it. But I didn’t see things that way. Submitting seemed to me a lot like giving up. If God gave us the strength to bail – the gumption to try to save ourselves – isn’t that what he wanted us to do?”

“I’m going to name my daughter, Rainbow, so that way, everyone will love her.”

“MOTHER IS WATERI wish I couldShower your head with flowersAnd anoint your feet with my tears,For I know I have caused youSo much heartache, frustration and despair –Throughout my youthful years.I wish I could give youThe remainder of my lifeTo add to yours,Or simply eraseThe lines on your face,And mend all that has been torn.For next to God,You are the fireThat has given lightTo the flame in each of my eyes.You are the fountainThat nourished my growth,And from your chalice –Gave me life.Without the wetness of your love,The fragrance of your water,Or the trickling sounds ofYour voice,I shall always feelthirsty.”