While our moms are
always the heroes, our dads deserve some credit too.
Dear dad,
You’ve gone a really long time without being thanked. I’m
not talking about thanks for things like opening the Gatorade bottle I couldn’t
or checking my tires when my car’s maintenance light is flashing, but rather
the thanks I owe you for shaping me into the person I am today. Thank you for
teaching me what I deserve and for not letting me settle for anything less.
According to Psychology Today, daughters ages 17-24 years are usually closer to
their mothers than their fathers.
While the whole world was telling me I wasn’t good enough,
you were there to tell me I was. Whether this was with boys, a friend, or
anything else, you always built my confidence to a place I couldn’t build it to
on my own. You showed me what my great qualities were and helped me feel
unique. But most of all, you never let me settle for anything less than what I
deserved, even when I wanted to. Without you, I wouldn’t be nearly as
ambitious, outgoing, or strong. Thank you for giving me someone to make proud.
It’s hard to work hard when it’s just for myself, but so easy when it’s for
you. All through school, nothing made me happier than getting a good grade back
because I knew I got to come home and tell you. With everything I do, you give
me purpose.
According to The Father Code, about 40 percent of children
in the western world will go to sleep in homes which their fathers do not live.
Before they reach the age of eighteen, more than half of our nation’s children
are likely to spend over 60% of their childhoods living apart from their
fathers. Thank you for showing me what selflessness looks like. You are the prime
example of what putting your family first looks like. If me wanting something
means that you can’t get what you want, you’ll always sacrifice. From wearing
the same t-shirts you’ve had since I was in elementary school so I could buy
the new clothes I wanted, to not going out with your friends so you could come
to my shows, you never made a decision without your family at the forefront of
you mind. If there is one quality you have that I look up to you for the most,
it’s your ability to completely put your needs aside and focus entirely on the
wants of others.
Thank you for being the voice in the back of my head that
shows me wrong from right. Even though many of your dad-isms like “always wear
a seatbelt” easily get old, whenever I’m in a situation and can’t decide if
what I’m doing is right or wrong, I always can hear you in the back of my head
pointing me in the right direction. While I may not boost your ego often enough
by telling you you’re always right, you are. Thank you for being real with me
when nobody else will. Being your child hasn’t always been full of happiness
and encouragement, but that’s what makes you such an integral part of my life.
Rather than sugarcoating things and always telling me that I was the perfect
child, you called me out when I was wrong. But what separates you from other
dads is that instead of just knocking me down, you helped me improve. You
helped me figure out my faults and stood by me every step of the way as I
worked to fix them.
Most of all, thank you for showing me what a great man looks
like. I know that marriage may seem very far down the road, but I just wanted
you to know that whoever the guy I marry is, I know he’ll be right because I
have an amazing guy to compare him too. I always tell mom, “Why can’t I just
find a guy like dad?” I know you’re not perfect (nobody is), but you’ve raised
me in such a way that I couldn’t imagine my kids being raised any differently.
Finding a guy with you heart, drive and generosity will be tough, but I know it
will be worth it.
Dad, you’re more than
just my parent, but my best friend. You’re there for me like nobody else is and
I couldn’t imagine being where I am not without you.
Love you forever,
Your little girl
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