Dear Dad,
I started looking through the card selection at Meijer yesterday trying to find a card to give you. Honestly, the thought of paying nearly $4 for a generic card that you’d inevitably throw away didn’t appeal to me. I thought I’d take some time to write my own words out instead. I hope you don’t mind my choice to save a little dough (I did inherit that from you, after all).
Another thing I inherited from you is the fact that I’m not very sentimental. We’ve never had the type of relationship where we spend hours talking about our feelings or sharing memories. Most of our conversations involve day-to-day things like your fight with the lawnmower or how many times my cat has peed on the couch. Most of the time I end up just chuckling and shaking my head after hanging up with you on the phone. But even though we rarely speak about things that matter, I want you to know how much you matter to me.
I can’t imagine how you and mom are feeling about me leaving the country for a year. If I were to try, I’d say you probably have a lot of different feelings. I think I’d be scared for my child’s safety, a bit worried about what she might encounter. I’d be excited for her to experience new things and have an opportunity I never had. And, of course, I’d be sad. Sad to see her go, sad to realize time has passed and my little girl has grown up. I imagine you’re feeling all of these things, Dad, but yet you’ve never expressed them in a way that would discourage me. I’m about to take the craziest, scariest journey of my life so far and I need every bit of support I can get. I love that I come home to find you on Wikipedia, researching the kinds of bugs I may end up eating or the wild animals I may encounter. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for putting aside your own feelings and simply being excited for me.
I know my life hasn’t always made total sense to you. I’ve made choices that are radically different from those of other young women my age. I believe things you don’t quite understand and do things you don’t always see reason for. But you have always shown love to me, even when we’ve disagreed.
I want you to know that you have had an impact on my faith in God. I have met plenty of people who struggle to see God as their Heavenly Father because their earthly examples have never measured up. But, thanks to you, I have the ability to love God all the more because of the love you’ve shown me and Patrick. The terms “Father” and “daddy” have always been positive in my mind. When I think of the word “dad” I think of words like “strong”, “selfless” and “protective”. You are an example to me of how a dad should be, not perfect, but willing to admit when you’ve messed up. You tell awful jokes and embarrass me most of the time, but I’ve never questioned whether or not you love me. You still open the car door for Mom and hold her hand while you drive, showing me that 25 years of marriage can still look the same as year 1. You’ve sat through countless choir concerts, musicals, award ceremonies and church services just to prove you’re my biggest fan.
Thank you.
Thank you for loving me and my brother. For loving Mom. Thank you for being willing to grow and to change when you’ve made mistakes. Thank you for keeping us safe. Thank you for singing silly songs in the shower and giving me your eyes. Thank you for supporting me even when you don’t understand my reasons. Thank you for never making me feel bad about myself even when the world around me wants to tear me down.
Daddy, I thank God for you every day. I thank Him for giving you to me, to be my dad. And even though you yell at the people on “Price is Right” and make references to people I’m too young to care about, I wouldn’t trade you for the world.
Happy Father’s Day, Dad. I hope there are plenty more.
Love, your “Baby Linds”
