It is Father’s Day here in the US.

My daughter Katrina came to visit last night.  She stayed overnight, and we are having the longest solitary time together in quite a while.  She turns 30 in August.  (Where did THAT come from?)  We had a nice dinner last night and stayed up talking until nearly midnight.  Today we will take my faithful old dog for a good hike, one of his favorite things to do, and we will likely cruise the scenic area where I live on Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

If I may say so, she is a lovely lady.  Full of spunk, curiosity and variety in her life, with a healthy dose of heart, love of people and keen perceptiveness guiding her along the way.  She is a highly talented massage therapist and yoga instructor.  And she now eats even more “crunchy” than how she was raised.  She used to complain to her mother and me that all our food was “bowl food”- rice and veggies, tempeh, etc.; weird things like that.  Now she out-crunchies me.  She brought me a care package of delectables from a Whole Foods store last night.

She puts out a lot.  She gives a lot.  She has some fiercely loyal clients.  And she is pretty darned good at also being good to herself.

Am I proud of her?  Well, I guess I am, but I think more importantly I am pleased and relieved that she is doing so well and that she enjoys her life as she does.  And I admire who she is and how she lives.  I am grateful to be her father.

Around the time she was getting out of diapers, I asked God one night, “What is my real job with her?”  The answer I got back was, “Help her be comfortable with herself in the world.” 

Wow, this was profound; a lot said in one simple sentence, and I could not take credit for the message.  Katrina is very comfortable with herself in the world.  She does life well.

How comfortable are you with yourself in the world?  Somehow that surprising guideline of my deepest role as a father seems to carry wisdom beyond what I saw at first.

I have often observed that people who seem very comfortable with themselves in the world have found their rhythm and their meaning.  And conversely, I think that in general people who have found their rhythm and their meaning are quite comfortable with themselves.

I guess I can thank Katrina for these awarenesses.

Hats off to fathers everywhere.