proud and thrilled

i arrived a little bit late...
that was okay. part of the plan.

i leaned against a wall smiled and said
hello to the parents around me and
settled myself in.

it wasn't long before a dad with a camcorder
stepped in front of me.
he was sweet about it. doin' all the body
language to make himself smaller and less
intrusive. i thought he was bein' a cute dad
and he didn't bother me at all.

i watched him get his angle all set and get
all ready....

ah, he was about ten kids too early! we had
a ways to go.

finally, his little daughter got up on stage.
oh man, you could tell right away HERE was a
kid who had stage talent.

she was sweet and sassy and spunky and she could
sing! i grinned from ear to ear watchin' her and
then watchin' her dad watch her.

when he was all done recordin' he stepped a little
closer to the wall. i reached out, touched his arm,
leaned closer, and smiled big. 'she's incredible!'

the beams of pride and parental tickledness
just covered him. we chatted a minute about her and
her mom and how she didn't get any talent from him.
he made me laugh.

i don't know what i thought was cooler.....
him or his daughter.

i woke up thinking about him this morning.
he was the first thought i had today.

i love to see that parental pride....
goodness knows i'm always beamin' it around the
place....

it's just such a cool thing to see people thrilled
about another person...

ya know what's neat? is when we have that for someone
who's not our kid. like when my girlfriend played
her music recently and i sat in the audience and
cried and cried cause she was so beautiful.

i love bein' proud and thrilled about people and showing
it. and i love it when i see others do it too.

i think i gotta do that a bit more often.

uh oh, i think my friends may all go run and hide!
but i'm thinking this is a good idea....