The canker sore

My 3-year-old has a canker sore in her mouth. It's not a big deal - to anyone but her. It hurts ... and it prohibits her from going to bed on-time, from eating her dinner, from getting dressed, from doing anything I ask of her. My first inclination was to leave it alone 'cause it would heal on its own. (I looked it up on web.md.)
But then I got to thinking about my dad. This man was a busy man - a workaholic, church-goin', supporting-and-assisting-in-the-raising-of-10-kids type of man. He didn't have a lot of free time. And what time he did have was sacred.
When I was a kid, I learned quickly that I didn't ask him to play board games. He wasn't interested. When "Annie" came out in the theatres, he took me on a daddy-daughter date. I remember jumping in his car, so excited to go and sitting there waiting and waiting and waiting for him to come. When he finally got in the car, I smelled minty-fresh breath. He had taken the time to brush his teeth. And in my exitement, I had forgotten to brush mine. I worried about bad breath the whole date. In fact, after the movie, we went immediately home. I thought it was probably because of either of my bad breath or because I was a bad date. (In retrospect, it's probably 'cause he didn't have any extra time or even money for a treat.) Anyway, the point is my dad was busy, and there was a lot of us and only one of him to go around.
But one time, as a young child - not yet in my teens - I went to him and told him how much my mouth hurt 'cause there was a sore in it. He explained that it was a canker sore. He then took me into the bathroom, got the Listerine out of the medicine cabinet, and taught me how to garlgle mouthwash. He explained that it was a type of medicine that would heal the sore. He then tucked me back into bed. It took only a few extra minutes of his time but the memory is so valuable to me, especially because I knew even as young as I was that this man's time was sacred.
I took my little girl into the bathroom last night. I explained to her that she had a canker sore and that Listerine was a type of medicine that would heal her sore. She's only 3 so I dipped a Q-tip into the mouthwash and set it on the sore for a minute. She hopped back to her bed happily, and I tucked her in.
And all day today I've thought about my dad and how much a minute of his time meant to me. It's a sacred memory.