We all want to feel safe and loved.  To feel important and special.  I have a feeling this little girl here is feeling all those things.  Safe enough to fall asleep, and trusting enough to be carried to bed by her daddy.   I look at this tender scene and although that dad is most likely tired himself, he still loves his little girl enough to carry her to bed, probably tuck her in, and kiss her goodnight.  The love of a parent is so self-sacrificing, and yet so many moments of giving don’t even seem like it to a parent.  They just love and give without even thinking.

I’ve never gotten to see my husband do this with a daughter, but I do remember my dad doing this with me.  He’d have to carry me up the stairs and I remember having to hide my eyes in his neck because the lights felt too bright.  I remember when I was really small a song he’d sing.  “I got my Lala, she’s my little Lala, she’s the cutest girl around, da dum dum dum..”  And honestly that’s all I remember.  But I loved painting a scene like this, getting to realize now, as an adult, how special that selfless act was.