Dear Dad,

Thank you.

Thank you for always supporting me in everything I do. Whether it was school events or sports, I could always count on you to be there. Somewhere in the stands watching me race for the 100th or 1000th time, or driving me to morning practice at 5 a.m., you supported my sport even though it was never your own. Hearing the simple, "Good job," from you was always enough.

Thank you for pushing me. It was frustrating at times, the yelling and arguing over doing homework, the punishments for bad grades, or skipping practice, but it made me better. You knew my potential better than I did and held me accountable for being the best that I could be even when it meant you had to be the bad guy.

Thank you for showing me that real love is not flowers, hugs and sappy letters. Real love is having the arguments but caring enough to talk about them and find the solutions. You set a standard to which I now hold all men to in my life. You and mom showed us what a healthy marriage based on mutual love and respect looks like.

Thank you for teaching me to be independent. You taught me that it's OK to challenge those above me if I disagree. You taught me that it's OK to have a different opinion from those around me but to speak my opinions with enough knowledge and intelligence to back them up. And thank you for constantly testing this by disagreeing with me, because if you don't trust your opinions enough to stand up to your parents you won't stand up to anyone.

Thank you for showing me the value of a dollar. You were never the dad that gave us $20 to go to the movies or to go shopping. If I wanted something or to go somewhere, I'd use money I made babysitting. You taught me that money had to be earned and was never given.

Thank you for the chores and responsibility. You expected 100 percent from me in everything from cleaning the kitchen to sweeping the floor. You have always worked hard in everything you do and showed me to take pride in my work. I didn't know it at the time, but this was the foundation of my work ethic.

Thank you for always giving me the best. Whether it be the tree house or private school or that four-wheeler when I was 6 years old, you spent the money you earned on me before yourself so that I could have better opportunities and a fun childhood.

Thank you for choosing my mom and me. And thank you mom, for finding the most important man in my life and giving me a dad.

Because I don't tell you often enough, thank you.

Love, your daughter