It’s no secret that my Mom and I are best friends. My sister and I share a sisterly relationship with my mom because we grew up with the familiarity of having it be “us three.”

Although my Dad was absent often from family get together or birthday parties because of his endless hours at work, he is undeniably the man behind the curtain and the glue that held our family together. This has brought me to be an undercover daddy’s girl.

While most of my friends know how close my Mother and I are, and see me as my “mother’s daughter,” I also have to assert that my sister and I, at heart, are undercover daddy’s girls.

What does this mean?

Well first off when our Dad actually gets mad it is 10 times scarier than our mom, but also it means we have a special spot in our heart for our amazing dad.

Here is a list of reasons why we are so thankful to have our Dad as our rock in our family:

1. The Value of Hard Work

My Dad works endless hours for our family and people in our world. He leaves in the middle of the night sometimes and doesn’t come back until late into the next day. Even when he is exhausted, sleepless, and borderline going crazy, he always takes time to make our family feel special.

My Dad has put himself 100% in all his endeavors and still takes the time to make people feel special. Hard work is key in life but so is staying humble, and I am so thankful my dad has taught me that.

2. The Value of Family Time

Who’s my Dad’s favorite? Well, it’s hard to say (and even though my sister and I would both argue the opposite) I believe my Dad, in all honesty, doesn’t pick favorites. Instead, he spends special time with each of us alone to show us how much we mean to him. Having only daughters, it is difficult to bond sports teams (or in my Dad’s case black holes or how bridges are built), so my Dad took time with both of us to find something that makes our bonds authentic, memorable and individualized.

For my sister, it was rocking out to Rush concerts and for myself, it was reading Harry Potter every night. The time we had with our Dad alone made us both feel like we were his favorite, which made his limited free time with us special in our own way.

3. Magic in Music

While my Mom can take full credit of acclimating us to Nelly and 50 Cent, my Dad showed us the magic of music in other ways (rather than introducing to us “Shawty it’s yo birthday”). My Dad took both my sister and I to our first guitar lesson when we were still in elementary school. Without my dad, I wouldn’t have learned “old man” music is actually pretty good, and playing it together is just as cool.

Whenever we're together, nothing brings a smile to my mom’s face, like seeing my Dad, sister and I play the guitar in the living room together.

4. Faith in Love

Yes, I have been quite doubtful at times with the guys I have dealt with in the past, but my Dad has shown me to never accept anything less than what I deserve. Seeing my Dad and Mom together shows me that true love does really exist.

My Dad is truly worthy, kind, humble, intelligent and family orientated. He has set an example of the type of family I want to have one day and what values I want my son or future husband portray.

5. Irreplaceable Bond

No one could ever take the spot of my Dad in my heart. He always has my back, my best interest and what’s me to always do what is right, not what is easy. He has always pushed me to do what makes me happiest and follow my dreams.

When I am having a bad day, nothing on earth can bring me more comfort than his warm hugs, his shy smile, and his kind eyes. Having my Dad say he is proud of me is an incomparable feeling, because I am so proud to call him my Dad.