As Father’s Day approaches, I am reminded how lucky and thankful I am to have been blessed with a dad like mine. When my parents divorced when I was a child, I got an amazing stepfather who went, and still goes above and beyond every day for me and his other children. He may have the step dad title, but he is my dad through and through, and deserves a Father’s Day every day. Thank you for being amazing! Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!

To my dad, stepdad, and hero.

Thank you, for everything. Thank you for promising to always be there for me ever since you entered my life. You have always stepped up and have been there for me when I needed you the most, and I am forever thankful. I may not show it all the time, but I truly am blessed to have you guiding me. You have been stretched thin when it comes to working, providing, being a husband, being a father to 6 children, and somehow you are able to be the best man in the world.

Thank you for knowing me better than I know myself. From packing up the car and heading to my first day of college, to dropping me off for my first Field School, to me being overly sad about goodbyes, you have always had a bright and happy outlook when it comes to reassuring me. You understand how I think, how I feel and process things, and you can easily bring me back to earth when needed.

Thank you for loving and respecting my mother, I can see the pure love and joy you bring to each other every day and I hope to have that one day. Through your love and compassion, you have shown me the most important qualities to look for in a man, and mom reminds me every day. You have taught me how to treat others, how to treat myself, and how to help others, you are the ultimate role model.

Thank you for investing your love, time, and money in my life. You’ve attended parent teacher conferences, you’ve helped with college tuition, you’ve helped me pay for things along the way. All that you have done has contributed to my development, growth, and achievements. Thank you for all the rides to practices, friends’ houses, school, and to work. You could’ve easily told me to walk, but you chose to drive me instead.

Thank you for loving me, including all my flaws and mistakes. I am not the perfect person, or daughter, but you show me that my imperfections should be embraced, and you embrace them with open arms. You are proud of me for the things I do well, and you reassure me that I can’t always do it all. Thank you for fighting for me, you have always had my back through everything I have faced, and I thankfully have never had to face it alone. Thank you for trusting me, but still being protective. We have a mutual understanding of what is expected of me, and I’m thankful for that. Thanks for putting up for my teenage angst, I know I can be pretty mean sometimes, but you know it’s just me being a teenager, and you understand that we all go through it.

Thank you for being my hero. I may not come out screaming when you get home from work, but I do run and scream when I get home college and haven’t seen you. Just know that you are single handedly the greatest role model I have had, and someone I have admired every day, and will continue to admire. You have done it all, not just for me, but for all your children and we are all lucky to call you Dad.

You deserve a Father’s Day every day of the year, if I could give that to you, I would in a heartbeat. So, this is me making a promise to remind you every day that you are the GREATEST dad. Thank you again, for everything, I love you so, so much. I am who I am, because of who you are.