I’ll admit it. I’ve put my father through hell. Growing up, I was full of rage and the classic teenage angst. I was no walk in the park as a child. Now that I am older and wiser (as much as I would like to think), I am starting to see those tough life lessons my dad pounded into my head mold to me. Now, I owe him the largest and overdue thank you.
First, thank you for teaching me to be independent. I may not have seemed too happy to be listening to you drag on for hours, lecturing me on life but I was listening. “I want you to grow up and never be dependent on a man.” That became engraved in my brain. Now I'm getting my education, working, and achieving my goals by myself and for that I’m extremely grateful.
Second, thank you for teaching me my self-worth. I know I’m hard on myself at times, but you and mom always made sure to remind me how special l am or how smart or beautiful I am. You taught me how I should be treated by a man. You set my bar very high for any person in my life. You made sure I knew I needed to be treated with upmost respect and well, like a princess.
Lastly, thank you for loving me unconditionally. For as long as I can remember, you have told me ‘I loved you first’. Through the arguments, head butting, my stupid choices, and through the good times, you never stopped loving me. Even when I pushed you to the very edge (and may have brought about a grey hair or two), you still loved me. I’m sorry I made you want to pull your hair out so many times, but hey, I think I turned out pretty good. You encouraged me to be whatever I wanted to be and to do whatever I wanted to do in life. You made sure to support me through all paths of life I went down without hesitation. That is unconditional love.
I would not be in the place I am today nor would I be the woman I am today without you. You pushed me to do my best, even if I thought I was my best, you knew better and continued to push me. They say hindsight vision is 20/20. My hindsight vision showed me that I have a wonderful father who deserves a thanks that cannot be put into words but here is the best I could do with what the English language can allow me to say: I’m sorry this is long overdue. Thank you for always being my number one fan, my hero, and the best father I could have ever asked for.
