When Matt Sweetwood decided to surprise his 23-year-old daughter by showing up at her birthday party, her boyfriend gave him his own surprise. While everyone around was drinking, Sweetwood made a surprising observation.
You see, Sweetwood is a single dad and has been the sole parent of five children for the past 19-years. As the Independent Journal reports:
“…he believed that if he focused on loving them, paying attention to them, and trying to ensure that their situations in life went well, then the results would be amazing.”
They also write that:
“In his piece entitled, “What Does a Daughter Really Learn from Her Dad,” he explains that birthday celebrations were much easier when the kids were growing up and all living under one roof. Now that his children are grown, ensuring that their birthdays are extra special is a bit more difficult.”
This was the motivation that made Sweetwood make a trip from New Jersey to Washington, D.C. to surprise his daughter. About this he writes:
“The plan was for me to show up at a birthday party she was having at a DC restaurant and bar with some college friends and co-workers…I entered the bar and walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. The surprised look, smile, tears and hug told me I had already succeeded in rocking her birthday.”
Sweetwood then describes a packed party atmosphere in which he, “…became a millennial sandwich.” He then writes about what really caught his eye. Sweetwood writes:
“As I watched about 300 youngsters party and drink a thought occurred to me. Is it a coincidence that the only two people in the room that weren’t drinking were me and my daughter’s boyfriend? …The immediate thought I had was of the old adage about how girls look to be with men like their fathers. Was that playing out right in front of me? I don’t drink at all and neither does her boyfriend.”
Sweetwood later found out that her boyfriend was a medical student and was studying for his board exams, so he didn’t want to be distracted and didn’t like losing control and acting inappropriately. He then watched through the evening as his daughter was looked after by her sober boyfriend.
Sweetwood finishes his piece by writing:
“Loving dads ultimately raise their daughters to find love in another. That ensures our daughters will feel the love they deserve, long after we’re gone. I did not think anyone could love my daughter as much as I do. I am thrilled to have met the man who is going to try.”
After hearing of this piece and writing about it, I just want to say – Thanks dad.
The original article was published on the Good Men Project.
h/t to Independent Journal
