Dear Dad,

Sometimes I wonder what I have done to deserve a father like you. There are so many things about you that I take for granted, but in reality, each is a piece of you that has helped to make me into the person I am today.

As I have grown older, your role in my life has changed. At first, you were there to help me get up when I would fall. You would tie my skates for me because we both know I wasn’t strong enough to do it on my own. You taught me how to work hard and what a “job well done” meant. In other words, you were there to get me through the trials of childhood.

When I entered high school, you became my support system. If I needed someone to edit my papers, you were my go-to. When Spanish became tricky at times, I relied on your six months in Guatemala to help me understand. Your love of history made my interest that much greater.

You have done so much more for me than just helping me get through the years of my life thus far. You have shown me what it means to be a good person. Whenever I ask myself what type of person I would like to one day become, I think of you. I might look up to you because you are taller than me, but I also look up to you because you exemplify the values I consider important in life.

I know I tell you how much I love you, how grateful I am for all that you have done for me, but sometimes I wonder if it’s enough. You held my hand when I was little, making me feel like the safest person in the world. When I grew older, you smiled and cheered from the bleachers and the side of the track. And now, when I am at college on my own, you’re still supporting me, even if I can’t see you when we talk on the phone every week or so.

Sometimes I will catch myself thinking of the little things about you that I miss. I miss the way you can sit and talk about hockey animatedly for hours. I miss the way you laugh when you think something is really funny. I miss playing spontaneous games of pool on nights when I should be doing something else. I miss the way you can make sense out of anything with an analogy. Most of all, I miss you.

So, thank you for everything you have done for me thus far in my life, Dad. You mean more than you could ever know to me, and I consider myself lucky every day I wake up and remember that I have you in my life.