”It is admirable for a man to take his son fishing, but there is a special place in heaven for the father who takes his daughter shopping." – John Sinor

I can't imagine what it must be like to raise a child as a single parent. I definitely lucked out though. My dad has been raising me on his own for quite some time now and I can't imagine it's been an easy ride (Last Minute should have been my middle name - sorry, Dad!). So, this is a letter to all the single dads out there raising daughters:

Hey, Dad. Thanks for standing in the doorway of my kindergarten classroom when I was too scared to go in alone. Thanks for meeting me at school when I finally mustered up the guts to take the school bus. Thanks for picking me up from the countless sleepovers I was too homesick to finish. On the opposite end of the spectrum, thank you for supporting me in all of my adventures. I'm sure it's not easy to think about me traveling in another country where the official language isn't English, but thank you for letting me, even encouraging me to leave my comfort zone.

Thank you for keeping your phone on and near you when you sleep so that when I need a safe ride home at two in the morning, I can always get in touch with you. I'm sorry that I've needed you to come get me at two in the morning in the first place.

Thank you for being even more excited than I am about my accomplishments. I forgive you for opening my college acceptance letters before I got the chance. But seriously, thanks for showing up to all the school concerts I forced you to go to just to watch me play the flute for 10 minutes.

Thanks for picking me up at school when I had the worst cramps of my life and thanks for understanding that I really needed to go home. What's more, thank you for always making sure there was Midol in the medicine cabinet and pads in the bathroom - I know grown men don't want to go to the store and buy those things.

Thanks for understanding that sometimes, I spend more on groceries than I should, and that sometimes I just really want that cool sweatshirt from that awesome thing I went to, and thank you for making sure the balance in my bank account never actually reaches $0.

Thanks for talking me down when I work myself into a frenzy because I don't know why I picked my college major and I have no idea what I'm doing with my life. Thank you for reminding me to value my education, and educating me on the value of a career that comes with benefits and a retirement fund. Sorry that I might not jump into that career after I graduate, choosing instead to go on some life-changing international adventure. Also, I'm sorry if that last bit made you grow a few gray hairs.

Thank you for helping me choose which medicine to take when I'm sick, and explaining how to grill chicken over the phone. Thank you for teaching me how to get stains out of my clothes, and fix the chain on my bike. Thank you for trying to learn how to do my hair when I was little - lopsided pigtails will never go out of style. Thank you for helping me choose which dress to wear to that nice dinner, and thank you for giving your honest opinion on the outfit I picked out - you were right, those shoes don't go with that top.

I know I'm not always easy to deal with - I leave dishes out, I don't always put my laundry away, I spend too much time on my phone and I get mad at you for no reason. When I'm upset about that stupid thing that happened, you remind me that it isn't the end of the world. You do the work of two parents on your own. You're a mom and a dad. I'm sorry I don't call home as often as I should, and I'm sorry I don't tell you how important you are to me. I love you, even when you try your best to embarrass me.

Thanks, Dad.