Dear Dad,
To THE Joey Duggan, training fire chief at the Sumter fire department, friend, brother, uncle, husband, and many other titles, but my favorite, DADDY! You are, always have, and always will be my first love. You are my biggest supporter and my number 1 protector.
Of course, being the only girl and the youngest means I get to be daddy’s little girl. I get to have those father daughter dates. I get to have those special daddy daughter memories. I get the most special kind of love a little girl could ask for.
On the other hand, I also get the curfews my bothers didn’t. I get the don’t go here or there rules. I also know my future love interest will have a speech waiting for him from you when that ever happens.
I am so grateful for your constant love and sometimes harsh punishment for the stubborn decisions I made when I was younger. I am so unbelievably grateful for all the times you told me “no” to things you knew were a bad idea, even if I didn’t listen to you. But also for all the yeses you gave me when I was making a good decision.
That decision to go off to college, only an hour and a half away, but to you it was a lifetime away, was one of those good decisions. All the tears I know I caused from going away, because you couldn’t be at my beck and call in just 10 minutes. You could have been if I went to USC, Sumter like you would have wanted, but you know that wouldn’t have been the best decision. I know that part of the reason I thrived in college was because you taught me to work hard and partially that networking thing you do so well. Who would have thought that me deciding to go a hour and a half away would be the least of your worries four years later.
In June of 2016 when I brought up the thought of going on the world race, you just pretended it wasn’t a conversation. I later got accepted and we didn’t talk about it too much. Eventually that big ole scary thing of fundraising rolled around and it was time to start asking for money! When that time approached, you started to come around and accept the thought of me doing the race.
Honestly, mom was on board from the beginning but once you came around you became my number 1 fan (along with mom, of course). You raised probably 94.7% of the $18,017 it took to be able to go. For that, I will forever be amazed. I also know if you are willing to support me going around the world for 11 months, you will support me with any decision I make in the future.
One of my favorite phone calls with mom was month 2, in Romania and mom was telling me about all the people that would ask how I was and where I was. Mom said that you would get the biggest smile and you would be so beyond proud to tell everyone what I was doing. Thank you for letting me take this journey with God.
You have taught me how to be independent, you have shown me how a man should love a woman by being a wonderful example with mom! I know that to you, no future valentine will ever be good enough, but because of you, I have also learned what I deserve out of life and my future relationships. This past week and a half of not contacting home has been so hard, but it makes me that much more grateful for the conversations I get to have with you in the future.
You have even taken my sweet Wasabi in for 11 months and treated him like royalty. You and mom taking in another dog dog for a year showed that you would go to know ends to make me happy. I appreciate everything you have ever done for me and I am lucky to be your daughter.
Thank you for always calling me your little girl, no matter how old I get. Thank you for taking me to father-daughter dances even in high school. Thank you for all the unofficial daddy daughter dates, even up to the race (and all the ones when I get home). Thank you for always making me feel beautiful. Thank you for teaching me how to be strong. Thank you for always taking care of me and providing for me. Thank you for loving me unconditionally. Lastly, Thank you for being my first and forever valentine.
I love you so much! I cannot wait to see you in 5 months.
Love,
Your little girl
P.S. Happy birthday Loretta!
