He had just walked in the house... stepping in the door from a long and tiring day at work. A long day in the hot sun and all he wanted to do was sit down and relax with a glass of lemonade and watch the news. But here she came, bounding through the kitchen, flinging herself at him in that sweet and innocent way that made his heart of stone melt into a puddle. He scooped her up into his arms and she molded against his chest and he knew that there was no way this little girl could ever fit so perfectly into anyone else's arms... that this spot was made just for her and her cuddles were meant just for him. And even when her Disney Princess crown (the one his wife insisted on buying for her birthday even after he'd sworn their daughter would never be a 'girly girly') -- even when that crown jabbed into his neck uncomfortably and her long curly black hair tickled his arms... even then, he didn't want to let her go.

And so instead of putting her down and reaching for the remote, he walked with her into the living room and pushed play on the old stereo and the two of them danced their hearts out to her Disney Princess CD (because God knew once she had one princess thing she had to have them all). And he twirled her in his arms and held her tight as Cinderella sang in the background and he breathed in the memories of this precious six-year-old. Breathed them in and held onto them, because if he thought about it long enough, it seemed like just yesterday she'd been a tiny baby and he'd danced with her every night, just like this... sometimes at 1 am and 3 am to comfort her colicy tummy, and sometimes as she grew, just for the heck of it. And those six years had flown by so fast and he knew that the next six would too and that before he could blink she'd grow up even more... and he wanted this to last forever.

And he blinked and she was 16 and she was tall and beautiful and she was learning to drive a car and she was interested in boys and she was out shopping with her friends right now because a guy she really liked had asked her to the prom. And he felt old sometimes and sometimes unappreciated and he longed for those moments when she was little and he'd been the only man in her life. He longed to have that little 'princess' back again... back in his arms. He longed for the moments so long ago when she'd run to him and leap into his arms and fit right there in that spot against his chest. He longed for the moments when she needed to fit there.

But now she was a young lady with a growing need to be independent and he was an old man trying hard to let her go. And sometimes they both tried so hard that they made each other angry. But anytime she needed a shoulder to cry on she would always come back to him. And that made him feel good. Because she was still his little girl and no matter how grown up she got she would always be his little girl. And when she stepped out of her bedroom that afternoon, in that beautiful blue dress with her hair pulled back in a bun, he had to do a double take... because she looked so grown up and she looked gorgeous, but she also looked like his little princess again. And when she asked him to dance... to show her how... he couldn't say no.

So he pushed play on that old stereo and the two of them stood there in the living room while some simple song played in the background and they slow danced in the sunlight. And everything seemed right. And she melted into his chest and he was surprised to find how easily she still fit there and if he could only have read her mind at that moment he would have known that she was thinking the exact same thing.

And he blinked again and she was 26 and he was sitting in the living room of that same old house flipping through an album of pictures of that beautiful little princess he once knew... the one who at some point along the way had grown up and become an amazing woman. He wasn't ready to let her go and he wasn't ready to say goodbye to the little girl he'd held onto for so long... and yet the time had come. And when she'd showed him that ring and her face beamed with the happiness and glowed with the joy, he'd somehow managed even in his sorrow, to echo back the same emotions... because he knew how important this was to her and he knew how wonderfully happy the young man made her and he knew that was all that really mattered anyway. Even if a small part of him was jealous that someone else was taking his place.

And he was surprised when she asked him to dance that night at her engagement party. Surprised that she still remembered their tradition. She'd grown up and moved away and she was a woman now... no longer his little girl. She was a professional and confident... all business like her mother... and when she asked him to dance in that crowded restaurant that didn't even have a dance floor... he couldn't say no.

And the two of them stood there in the middle of the party, and the music played from the speakers above and they danced together. And after all these years she still fit perfectly right there in his arms. And he was well aware of the fact that this may be one of their last dances together... so held on tightly as they swayed along to the music and he remembered that little baby so long ago, and the little girl... and the teen and this sophisticated woman. And he was proud to give her away.

And he blinked one last time and there he was, back in that living room once again and in his arms he cradled a tiny little girl with curly black hair who hugged him tight as her princess crown jutted into his neck. But he didn't care at all because he knew this moment was far to precious and he just wanted to remember how well she molded into his chest and how unbelievably happy she made him.

He twirled around and around the room with her as they danced to a Disney Princess CD together and soaked in the memories of her amazing childhood, and he couldn't help but notice when she looked up into his eyes and smiled... that she looked just like her mother.

"I love you Mary," he whispered as he held her tight...

"I love you too Grandpa"