Dear Dad,

Thank you for reading me your favorite books when I was a kid. Even though "Huckleberry Finn" scared me and I thought Tom Sawyer was kind of mean, you instilled in me a love of reading and of adventure. Thank you for teaching me that the world is big and has so much to learn and to explore.

Thank you for your silly accents and songs and all the ways you have always made me laugh. You have shown me how important it is to laugh, especially when we don't really feel like laughing at all. You always manage to see the joy and humor in things and you turn my drama queen moments into something we can laugh about together. You have taught me not to take anything to seriously and the importance of having fun. Even when you are making lame dad jokes, you always make me smile.

Thank you for letting me be the princess loving girl that I am. For playing barbies with me despite the fact that you never quite got why Barbie always had to wear a ball gown, even when she was going camping. Thank you also for letting me be a little bit of a princess. Thank you for pulling out my slivers and bandaging me up every time I fell off my bike. Thank you for letting me cry and complain and taking care of me anyways.

Thank you for always killing spiders for me, even when I interrupt your baseball game and make you climb up two flights of stairs for a spider that I can't find any more. You always did whatever it took for me to feel safe, and I appreciate all of the sacrifices you made to do that.

Thank you for cooking and cleaning up after me and my brother. We definitely do not thank you enough for that. I am so blessed to have a dad that does my laundry almost every day and lets me boss him around about how to hang dry my leggings. Thank you for the chili and the pizza and the lasagna and for the packed lunches for long nights at dance class and swim practice.

Thank you for teaching me that the things that matter are not how smart you are or how good you are at sports but the kind of person you are. You gave me an example of that in being the kindest and most patient person I have ever met. Thank you for having the patience to teach me. You taught me how to be kind, how to ski, even though there were a lot of tears involved, and that duct tape can repair just about anything.

Thank you for Saturday hikes and trail mix and always letting me complain about the heat. Thank you for teaching me about the wonders of coffee in the morning and fish for dinner. You are the best dad I could have every asked for, and I am so lucky to call you my dad.