The Daddy

Like the Boy, the Daddy story Jo requests doesn't go by this name in the Baby Bible.  In fact, the designation is "The Little Girl."  For symmetry, I would expect Jo to ask for "The Boy" and "The Girl" each night, but she's intent on "The Daddy."

And I can hardly blame her.  In this narrative, the desperate father comes to Jesus, asking for his help to heal his dying daughter.  Jairus is a good man.  In a world that devalued women in general and girls in particular, he seeks out the Rabbi's help for his little girl.

It's a short narrative in the Baby Bible, and Jo seems not to mind when I rush through to the end (after four rounds of Curious George, Noah, and the Boy, I'm usually losing steam by this point).  But on the last page, we always have to stop to note the figures represented.  The daddy, the little girl, and the mommy--and on the facing page, the neighbors who had gathered to mourn, now carrying trays and pitchers, and dancing.

One night a few months back when we were repeating our evening ritual of naming the characters, Jo pointed to these and I said, "The neighbors, having a party."  Jo turned to me and said, "They're celebrating."

At barely two years old, we didn't know she knew the word (or that she could say it).  Indeed.  They're celebrating.  Having a party.  Singing, dancing, bringing out the snacks and the wine.  "Jesus had made them happy again," concludes the story. 

But happy doesn't begin to show what the picture shows.  The daddy, the mommy, and the little girl, with a backup chorus of their community, bringing in the fried food and baked goods.  Breaking out the party food.

But why "The Daddy" as Jo's title?  Perhaps because he sets the story in motion.  He asks.  He reaches out of cultural expectation to draw attention to a little girl.  He humbles himself before the Rabbi and then challenges the leader to hurry.  He's insistent.  Pushy.

And on the last page of the story--at least the one I read every night--he shamelessly dances with his wife, his little girl, and three female neighbors bringing in the feast.  Outrageous.  And a happy man, indeed.