Doing Homework with Dad

I arrived home from work tonight to find Kim working in the yard. Lincoln and Anna were chasing each other around the yard playing some sort of demented game of tag that included brooms and plastic shovels.

Luca needed to finish her first grade homework which was difficult to do as she watched her brother and sister through the window. I asked her if she wanted some help and she said, “I wanna go outside” as she slid further down into her chair for a good pouting session.

I spun my computer chair over to the desk next to her chair. I saw her smile as I nearly fell off my chair after spinning myself silly. She said she was cold so I grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her. She looked like a pink burrito. I found a pencil and acted like I was going to spell some words when she leaned forward and said, “No, dad! I can do that”. I said, “Well, it’s blank right now so I’m not sure you can”.

That’s all she needed to hear. She sat up straight in her chair, took the pencil and ripped through the list of 30 words in a couple of minutes. I scribbled my signature on the front page acknowledging she completed her homework for the week. Luca asked why my name looked funny, and I explained to her that I’d written my name in cursive. I wrote her name in cursive as she watched intently and then tried it on her own a few times.

Since she’d finished both her homework from school and the online IELTS course, I mentioned she could now go outside and play until mom came in the house. I was surprised when she said, “I just want you to sit by me on the couch and keep me warm”.

That’s one of the best complements a dad can receive from his daughter.