Dear Daddy,               

June 17, 2001

I think about you all the time. Sometimes when I am going to sleep at night ,  my mind will flash to you, and I am reminded of how much I love you. I see images of you as the strong one – sometimes silent to the conversation, but always listening.

Even though I have never told you, thank you for being a good father. I know of other fathers of friends who didn’t do as good of a job with their children, and I am thankful to you. I never miss an opportunity to tell people how I feel about both my parents, and they are always amazed at how often I mention you and Mom.   However, these are the same people who live in different parts of the country than their parents and could not imagine living near them. I guess we are blessed to live so close to one another, but I could have it no other way. My life and their lives of my own daughters would be lacking something without the foundation that comes from a close family.

Thank you for never striking out in anger at me or Rhonda or Mom. I know there have been times in your life that are difficult and upsetting to remember. Those same things made you the man you are today. You could have taken that path with your family, but you did not. I thank you for that.

Sometimes, we never say the things we feel, so I am writing them. You are the parent I hope to be to my children. Parents, especially fathers, need to be told that their children love them – not just loved like you love a good book or a comfortable pair of shoes, but really, truly, deeply loved. That is the way that I love you.

As I grow older, my friends sometimes speak of childhoods that were less than perfect with terrible, mean, and antagonizing fathers. I grieve for them, because they will never know the true love of a father who would certainly do anything for his family. They will never know the security that comes from having a father who would risk everything for them. I know this feeling, and I take comfort knowing that it will never go away.

You are my father, and I love you.

-Sheila