I’m 100 percent sure if my husband and I were drowning in a pool and my daughter could only save one of us, I’d be a goner. These days Mila is all about Daddy, and last week was proof of that.

Mila came home from preschool with a note from the teacher saying she was selected for book reader. When a child in the class is book reader, that child is allowed to have a parent come read a book to the class. From my observations, the book reader is always the mother. I assumed I’d be reading the story. I asked Mila what book she wanted me to read. “I don’t want you. I want Daddy. He’s a good reader,” she said.

I have to admit that my heart sank a bit. I had so much fun reading earlier in the year when Mila’s twin brother, Eli, was book reader. “Didn’t you like it when Mommy came to read Eli’s book to your class?”

“You were boring, Mommy,” she said. In true Mila style, she began snoring as if I needed her to make the point even clearer. Where does a 3 ½ year old come up with something like that? I could barely stop laughing to catch my breath. I guess if she hadn’t been so funny it would have hurt my feelings.

Mark, being the great dad that he is, graciously accepted story reader duties and cleared his work calendar to be there. After some negotiations (Mark made it clear he wasn’t reading any book about princesses or tea parties), they settled on “Bark, George,” a more gender-neutral story about a dog who has to go to the vet after swallowing other animals.

I came on story day and peered through the window. Mila’s little face lit up like a blowtorch when she saw her father walk through the door. Grinning from ear to ear, she sat in the chair beside him as he read to the class. I could tell it meant the world to her to have him there, and I actually thought it was interesting for Mark to have the opportunity to see Mila and Eli in a classroom setting for the first time.

As I watched Mila, I could only think of her sweet little words at bedtime the night before story reader day. “Everyone will ooo and ahh when Daddy reads,” she said.

Popularity: 100% [?]