It takes a special man to accept someone else’s child as their own and to step up to the plate another man left on the table. But you did it. You love me as if I was your own child and you are always there for me. I can scarcely remember a day when you were not a part of my life because every bad memory I have of my biological father has been replaced by the millions of good memories I have made with you. It is because of you that I have learned to not define my life by those events which I would like to forget, but rather those that I want to carry in my heart forever. It is because of you that I have faith in people and know that sometimes it is not about who has been with you since you took your first breath, but sometimes it is more about who made you stop holding your breath and live again. You gave me hope for humanity, because if you could love without asking what was in it for you then so can the rest of us. Thank you for being the hero every little girl imagines her daddy to be. You are amazing and you deserve your moment in the sun.
Your name may never be chiseled on a star in a sidewalk. You may never see it engraved on a statue proclaiming you to be the best in your field, but just know that your name will forever be stamped on my heart. Not many men on this Earth would enter into the jigsaw puzzle another man left behind and stick around to help put all the pieces back together. It is because of you that though my early childhood was a mess, it will never define me or who I am today. Not many men would accept another man’s child calling him Daddy, but you did and you absorbed that role as if it had been yours all along. When it came time for me to walk down that aisle at my wedding there was never any doubt in my mind who would be walking down it with me. You earned the right to give me away during that moment because you put in the effort and you helped raise this little girl into a woman. So thank you Daddy for stepping up when he stepped out. Thank you for filling that void that I tried to convince myself didn’t exist.
I always loved how you never referred to my sisters and I as your stepdaughters. Whenever anyone would ask you how many children you had you always said you had seven and left it at that. When you introduce us to someone you simply say this is my daughter. You may not have thought that mattered much, but believe me it does. People like to hear that they matter to someone and that simple gesture shows us that we matter to you. We are your children—your daughters, and it doesn’t matter that you were not there to help us learn how to ride a bike or to tie a shoe. You have always been there when I needed you without any hesitation. I honestly do not think you even put much thought into whether or not you are going to show up for us, but rather you just do. When my kid is sick and I am scared and do not want to sit in the emergency room alone, you sit there with me. When I need help moving or have a question about my car, you always pick up the phone and are there to help me out. Not many men would willingly take on this much responsibility for someone else’s kid without getting something in return.
Sometimes I wonder, Daddy, what are you getting in return? Do you know how much you mean to me, even if I sometimes forget to tell you? Do you know how much of an impact you have had on my life? Do you realize how much faith and trust I put in you? You are such an important part of who I am even if you don't think you had very much to do with that at all. Thank you for being the father I always needed and the one I always wanted. Thank you for being there on my prom night, my graduation day and helping me celebrate the birth of my children. Thank you for being the Paw they deserve and for being their grandfather without questioning if you should be. Thank you giving my son his middle name and for being his best friend. Thanks for all those nights we stayed up late watching "Titanic" and for all those times you dried my tears after I cried on your shoulder. I have learned the most important life lesson of all because of you. We may go through a lot of storms in life, Daddy, but they give us a rainbow and the hope that something better is on the way if we are willing to learn to dance in the rain. I love you and thank you for stepping up when he stepped out.
