So I'm her dad now. For real.

This weekend, I've become a dad. To an eleven year old girl. Oh, I've been her parent - the sperm donor - for all of those years, but it's different now.

I'm sitting in my living room of what just a few days ago was a bachelor pad so to speak. Next to the flat screen TV are two American Girl dolls, sitting in American Girl chairs, with American girl dogs in their laps. I find that I like this.

In the next room is the topic of this post, the eleven year old. I can hear her in there filming yet another short movie about horses. She does all the voices while simultaneously "directing" various Breyer horses around her room, or outside, or in the car, or wherever she happens to be. In a little while, she'll upload what she's shot, do some quick editing, and post it to her YouTube account. I like this too. The sound of her in there, her quirky creativeness, her simply being in the next room.

She wasn't for a while. For too long. Over two years away riding out a divorce with bizarre twists and turns. And before that, was I really there? One could argue that I was not. I'm here now. Yet another thing I like.

This afternoon, I sent an email out to my team at work regarding one of our artists, who's song was playing on Radio Disney. I was simply making an observation, but in a reply, one of my co-workers pointed out how my life just did a 180. A summer Saturday afternoon and I'm listening to Radio Disney. And I liked it. I'll listen again.

So the point is, I'm liking this. Through all the trials and tribulations I've gone through to get here, my girl is home, with me, and even better, WANTS to be home with me. I really like this.

So I'm a dad now. For real. and I like this most of all.