Hey Papa,
With Father's Day passing recently and your birthday falling right before, I have been thinking a lot about you. It's been about three and a half years without you, Pop, and I'll tell ya, it hasn't been easy. I thought time was supposed to make everything better, but for some reason, I feel like the pain is getting worse.
As I get older, I have taken a step back and contemplated your relationship with each individual person in our family. After a lot of thinking, I can't help but feel a little jealous. I am jealous of everyone older than me who was able to spend more time with you. I feel a little cheated because I was only 15 years old when you died, and I will never get the opportunity to know you the way everyone older than me did.
They tell me you were wise and always gave the best advice. And even though I may never receive some advice from you, I hope that one day people will say that about me. You were fun to be with, the glue that held everyone together, and my favorite story-teller. You taught me to love reading and the beach and to always look for dolphins. I hope that when I die, people will miss me the way we all miss you.
Even though I will forever wish for more time, I have learned to cherish every second we ever spent together. I really can't thank you enough for everything you did for me and continue to do for me. There are constant reminders of you, and even though they make me miss you, even more, I can't help but smile and keep these little memories of you close to my heart. I will never forget you, Papa. Every single wave and dolphin I see will forever remind me of you.
Love and miss you more than anything,
Coli