I expected to slip into the house quietly, grab a quick bite and then go up to catch a little football before bed. It was a teaching night and I was getting home later than usual. I quietly opened the door and got a surprise in the form of my 3-year-old girl. It startled me at first. I looked up and there she was standing there expectantly. She appeared to be the only one in the house who was awake. Of course, I was concerned thinking about all the trouble an unsupervised girl that age could get into downstairs. “Hi Daddy!” she said happily. “What are you doing here?” I demanded. I instantly felt badly as I saw disappointment and hurt swell up in her face. “I just wanted to see you when you got home Daddy,” she said softly. “I wanna peanut butter sandwich too.” I swept her up in my arms and gave her a kiss. My teaching days are long, often arduous 14-hour affairs, but I should never be too tired to accept a little girl’s love. Besides, this girl has always been a night owl. She doesn’t need much of an excuse to stay up late most nights since she doesn’t have school and can sleep in the next day. We both had a late dinner together. I couldn’t help but ask her why she wasn’t upstairs sleeping with her brother and her mother. “Daddy, I couldn’t go to sleep without kissing you good night,” she said. I felt like even more of a heel now. What could I have done to deserve such unconditional love? We finished up and I took her upstairs. My wife was stirring and she saw us come into the room. She raised herself up and looked at us sleepily. “Look, I had a one-girl reception committee,” I told my wife. She called my Baby Girl’s name out. However, she was tired. She had a long day too so I let her go back to sleep. The next morning, my wife said she was a bit aggravated that she had crawled out of bed and gone downstairs. However, she's always been a night owl and we'll have to be mindful of that in the future. We cuddled up together on the couch and watched a little Monday Night Football. As she lay in arms finally giving way to sleep, I thought about what a miracle she was and how we were so blessed to have her. I thought once again of my three-day trek to get home from Iraq in time for her birth, and how holding her that first time made it worth all the effort and aggravation. I had papers to grade and there were dishes to be done downstairs. However, I took a few moments just to relish this time. I know it won’t always be this way, but I’ll always have this memory. | 
