A Letter To My Dad

Hey there, Dad. After you left me at work today I just really felt the need to let you know what's been on my heart for quite a while now

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You came into my life when you were just 19 years old. I look back to when I was 19 and try to think about becoming someone's parent. That absolutely terrifies me. I can't think about it. At 19, I felt like I was barely making it through college, trying to understand taxes, and still trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. I'm 21 now and can confidently say... I still do not know either. I have an idea, though, so that's something right?!

At 19 years old, you decided to look at two little kids who were heartbroken and fatherless and not judge them or feel sorry for them, but love them like your own. You, a kid yourself, looked at two small children and took them in. And we were yours. You didn't have to do that, you know, but you did.

You grew up fast, so my siblings and I didn't have to.

Growing up, I know I was hard. We fought. We butt-heads. We fought some more. But no matter how hard I fought, you were always there for me. You fought my battles. You picked me up when I was down. You taught me how to ride a bike and shoot a gun. You taught me how to go fishing and I somehow managed to always catch the first and biggest fish. You taught me how to work hard and do my very best. You taught me how to drive and check my car for oil and other things. You taught me so many lessons that, growing up, I never knew I needed and... I never appreciated, until now.

You loved us from the very beginning. There was no question.

I remember always hearing you leave at 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning every Monday just so you could go to work all week, stay in a hotel, and be back on Thursday at 5. I remember being so happy when you would come home (even if I was stubborn and wouldn't show it sometimes.) You did all of that just to wake up Monday morning and do it all over again. I know it was hard work, yet you still chose to work hard to provide us with all of the things that we needed. And still do.

You have been there for me through it all. The good, the bad, and the very, very ugly. And yet, despite everything you still chose to adopt my brother and I. You still chose to want to be our dad. And in my humble opinion, it takes a special kind of man to love and raise someone else's children as their own.

When I was 16, I found out something regarding my biological father. I was devastated but brushed it off as nothing. I felt like my whole life I had been searching for a dad without even realizing the great one I had right in front of me.

I'll never forget when I finally got off the plane after having a miserable time at my biological father's house and things ending terribly there, once again I was so lost and so heartbroken. And then I saw you. Standing there by baggage claim with a smile on your face waiting to pick me up. I remember that was such a pivotal moment in my life for me. That one little moment and that one little smile. I knew then that everything I had been searching for had been right in front of me this whole time. I'm sorry for not seeing it sooner.

I wanted to write this note to simply tell you that I have always watched you and looked up to you. I've always been there for you. And I have always loved you. There's never been a moment in my life where I haven't loved you.

I just want you, and everyone who reads this little blog, to know how much I love and appreciate you and to know how great of a man you are. Thank you for coming and surprising me today. You have no idea how much it means to me when you stop by. It's like a little slice of home every time.

Thank you for being my dad. I love you.