Morning Goodbyes

Katie and Dan have a morning ritual.

When he leaves the house each morning, she can hear the garage door closing. She bolts out of bed and races to the window. She opens the curtains and sees him backing out of the driveway. He always pauses to wave at her, and they do hand signals to each other to say goodbye. There’s usually a heart hand signal and then they each point to themselves (for “I”), then cross their arms over their chests (for “love”) and then point at each other (for “you”). Then they point multiple times so it turns in to “you you you you you!”

These little moments are the ones that bind my daughter’s heart to her father. Secret traditions give you something to hold on to when you feel like the world is against you. Every morning that Katie and Dan enact this ritual, they lay another brick in the foundation of a lifetime love for each other.