Since it’s Father's Day and dads are notoriously hard to buy for, I thought I would share a gift idea. Now, I know it’s too late for this year, but – next year. And by the way, my daughter gets credit for this idea.

I was driving down the highway one day when my cell phone rang. It was our oldest daughter who is married and living in Seattle. I answered it with a cheerful "hello."  And instead of a "hello" in response, I heard singing.

"Well, what is this," I thought, "some kind of a crank call?"

I checked the "Caller ID." It was my daughter. The person on the other end of the line was singing with the radio. Now, at first I didn’t recognize the tune, but then I’d listened a little closer to what she was singing.

“[Yeh,] I’ve been watching you, Dad, ain’t that cool?
I’m your buckaroo, I wanna be like you.”

You know, [at] this – this just isn’t working. Trying to tell someone a song is like flying kites without wind; you can’t! I know this song isn’t exactly what you might hear on this program – it’s a little out of the ordinary – but maybe that’s what you need to do to let your dad know how much you care; do something different. Here’s part of that song:

“We got back home and I went to the barn.
I bowed my head and I prayed real hard.
Said, ‘Lord, please help me help my stupid self.’
Then this side of bedtime later that night,
Turning on my son’s Scoobie-doo nightlight.
He crawled out of bed and he got down on his knees.
He closed his little eyes, folded his little hands,
Spoke to God like he was talking to a friend.
And I said, ‘Son, now where’d you learn to pray like that?
He said ‘I’ve been watching you, Dad, ain’t that cool?
I’m your buckaroo; I wanna be like you,
And eat all my food, and grow as tall as you are.
We like fixing things, and holding Momma’s hand.
Yeah, we’re just alike, hey, ain’t we, Dad?
I want to do everything you do. So I’ve been watching you…..’”

Well, my daughter finished singing the song – and she was crying. She told me she loved me and she said ‘Goodbye.’

It became a habit for us after that. We’d each hear songs on the radio and call each other to share the love.

Now, every time I hear Rodney Atkins singing “Watching You,” I sing real [really] loud with tears in my eyes, and think of my grown-up daughter living far away. It was a simple unorthodox gift from the heart that will be forever.