Dear Daddies - Girls are the Worst?

"It takes about 1.5 million to raise a child" she informed the crowded dental waiting room; the families there had them all; boys, girls  - everything.  
 
"And that's just in alcohol!" Piped my husband seated next to his 12 year old girl. The entire room erupted in laughter. He loves spontaneous comedy, to an egoless degree. You know the kind.  
 
"You know, girls are the worst!" Someone offered. The silly banter continues. My husband now pretending he can't hear anything. He looks over at his daughter and offers apologetic eyebrows.  
 
"I don't think that is so. Good kids are good kids." He keeps his tone low to avoid confrontational dialogue. He isn't afraid to spar on a debate forum designed for the purpose but he tries to be a noble savage in public. For the daughter next to him his friendly, protective words are always present in her life.  
 
One year a sibling relentlessly picked on her. It got to the point that he declared only her friends would go swimming with him. If they refused to honor her with the title of friendship and associated kindness they could not join their daddy at the usual riverside swimming spot.
 
That's the love of a father for you!