The Plan For Scaring The Boys Who Show Interest In My Daughter Has Gone Out The Window

A friend of mine that I grew up with, was recently killed by her estranged boyfriend. She was a beautiful single mother, and was someone I was always fascinated by, all the way back to when we went to school together, and were in drama class. I've been processing my thoughts on this since this happened last month, waiting for a free moment where I could rant about it. 

I wouldn't say we were close back in school, but she was someone that was always around, and was super nice, and such an interesting character--so I felt we were close. Also, she was stunningly beautiful, but definitely out of my league in high school (I was a total geek). She found me on Facebook a few years back, planning for our high school reunion, where I regularly engaged with her, and followed here life online--when she was killed, it shook me. It shook me hard.

It pains me to think of her son, and her family. It makes me lose a little more faith in humanity. It also completely forced me to toss out any plans (no matter how dumb they were) I had for dealing with my teenage daughter coming of age, and attracting the attention of boys. You see, us boys have had the fear of god put into us by the fathers of girls we date, and the dumbass stories on TV (and now social media) about dads setting boys straight, and this making everything alright. 

As my little girl grew up, I told myself all of these old stories, and replayed encounters with interested boys in my head, and planned how I was going to scare them into treating her right. Then my beautiful friend was killed in her home, in the middle of the night, by her estranged boyfriend. You see, when a father says to a young boy interested in his daughter, that he'll do to him, whatever he does to his daughter--that does not work in this scenario. The asshole who killed her, killed himself when he was done.

I have no more scenarios left to act out in my head. The only thing I can do is equip my daughter, and when she does start dating, I stay as engaged as I can. I've been watching my friends dad post to her Facebook wall every couple days, talking about his daughter--it really makes my heart ache, and leaves me so fearful for the future, and the world I've brought my daughter into. 

:-( RIP Athena--it was a pleasure to know you.