Let me give you a quick background on the type of guy my Dad is.

Put simply, he is superman.

Whatever he sets his mind to, no matter how farfetched or unrealistic it may seem at the time, you can rest assured he will have you in awe in very little time. He once made a New Years resolution to finish a triathlon in one year and I must say, at the time, it was pretty laughable.

But I was not at all surprised when he did it. No one was. And not only did he do it, he did it BIG. He trained long and hard and took it up as a hobby. He integrated running at least a mile every night into his daily routine and kept it up for three years - until he forgot one night (sorry, Dad).

He is a KILLER lawyer. He absolutely slays in court. Needless to say, whatever this crazy twisted world throws his way he completely and utterly takes control and comes out on top. I cannot lie, when he had a stroke two weeks ago, I was absolutely devastated.

Stroke is a scary word. It bothered me to no end feeling like my hero, the one who is constantly doing whatever he can to help the people he cares about, would now need caring for. But superman struck again. He made a full recovery and has no permanent damages. So here is an open letter to the strongest, bravest and most caring man anyone has ever met: my dad.

Dear Dad,

I know that I do not say it as often as I should, but I appreciate you.

I appreciate your "go get em" attitude. I appreciate your will and determination. I admire the way that you tackle just about every single solitary thing with poise and strength.

I appreciate your sense of humor that mirrors that of a seventeen year old boy and your love of all things comic-related. I appreciate your tendency to order random things on Amazon only to never touch them.

I appreciate the way that you lead our family, and quite honestly I have never seen anything like it.

You are truly one of a kind, Dad, and I can only hope to grow up to be half of the person, parent, friend, and partner that you are. Thank you for being my rock, and more importantly for being you. I will always and forever be your number one girl, and for that alone, I am eternally grateful.

Love always,

Ilyssa