A Father's Love

One of the most touching parts of our trip to California was the Father/Daughter dance between our Stepdad, John, and his daughter, Jamie. She chose the song "I Loved her First". John is a great singer and guitar performer. He was so touched by the song that he went into a professional recording studio and sang and played guitar with his friend John Lukes. At the reception, when it came time for the dance, John's voice sang to Jamie on the recording. There was not a dry eye in the room. Each mother thought of the father her husband is to her children. Each father thought about his love for his little girl. And each daughter, especially me, thought of her first true love, her Dad. Even Emory and Clif shared a special dance during this song. These are the words to the song:

Look at the two of you dancing that way
Lost in the moment and each others face
So much in love your alone in this place
Like there's nobody else in the world
I was enough for her not long ago
I was her number one
She told me so
And she still means the world to me
Just so you know
So be careful when you hold my girl
Time changes everything
Life must go on
And I'm not gonna stand in your way

But I loved her first and I held her first
And a place in my heart will always be hers
From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
And I prayed that she'd find you someday
But it still hard to give her away
I loved her first

How could that beautiful woman with you
Be the same freckle face kid that I knew
The one that I read all those fairy tales to
And tucked into bed all those nights
And I knew the first time I saw you with her
It was only a matter of time

But I loved her first and I held her first
And a place in my heart will always be hers
From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
And I prayed that she'd find you someday
But its still hard to give her away
I loved her first

From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
Someday you might know what I'm going through
When a miracle smiles up at you
I loved her first