Tonight I sent my daughter Reese off to the daddy daughter dance. I know lots of moms have done this before.  I did it last year too.  I know that seeing their daughters all dressed up with their proud fathers makes most mom’s hearts burst.  And mine definitely was too, but tonight it’s a little different.

If you read a post of mine from about a week ago I wrote about how I loved this night because I get to see Reese all dolled up in matching clothes and “mommy-fixed” hair.  She looked perfect in her dress and her crazy self haircut has grown out enough where I could clip back her bangs with pretty clips and she looked adorable.

But that’s not why it was different for me.

This year Reese was very excited about going to the dance and asked if she could go.  “Of course,” I said and “I will make sure that we go get you the perfect dress and maybe even new shoes like last year for you and Daddy’s special night.”

“Okay Mommy, but I want to go with John, not daddy.”

My heart melts, John is my new husband, Reese’s new stepdad.  He has no biological kids.

My heart also feels sad for her dad as he already was asking me when it was.

“That is so sweet, but don’t you think that Daddy will miss going with you again?”

Starting to get upset, “But I want to take John.  Daddy went last year and John never got to go to a daddy daughter dance.”

What am I going to do? I know John would LOVE to go but what about her dad and his feelings?  We have a great divorced relationship that always puts Reese first but I don’t want him to think that John and I had any influence on this…

“That is true and very sweet but I bet you John would be okay with that and would take you out on a special daddy daughter date another night.  Daddy is excited to go again.”

Practically crying now.. “But Mommy I want him to meet my friends and it’s not fair to John.  It’s not about Daddy.  He already went. It’s about me and who I want to bring and John is my dad too.”

“Ok honey, well the dance is weeks away,  We will figure it all out.”  I tell her hoping I will figure it out???

“Ok Mommy.”

Five minutes later..  “So when we get home will you text Daddy and tell him that I am going to go with John?”

Well it ended up that Reese talked to her Dad on her own and she said he said “okay, okay honey that is fine.”  He didn’t say anything different to me.  He did a good thing for Reese,

So tonight I sent the one and only love of my world, Reese and, the best guy in my world, John (who are crazy about each other) off to their first daddy daughter dance together and my heart was bursting like never before