When we are young, we look up to certain people. Sometimes they are movie stars, superheroes, princesses and princes, and so on. When I was younger I looked up to someone I saw as Superman. Someone who was more powerful and courageous than any superhero Marvel could have made up. I call him dad.

I can only imagine that being a Father is not an easy task, but it is also a very important role that a man must fill in order for their child to grow up and experience something like unconditional love. Although I am only eighteen, I have never in my eighteen years met a man that is as amazing and kind hearted as you, dad.

I can’t remember a time when you weren’t there for me. Not just as a Father, but as a friend too. When I was little, you were my favorite person to play with. You would chase me around the house, play hide and seek, and watch Sesame Street on repeat no matter what football game was on TV that day. As I got older and started school, you did everything you could including selling your truck, to ensure I had a good education. You do these things because I know you truly love me and you have showed me that when you truly love someone you make sacrifices in order for them to be happy.

I always saw you as the man that could do it all, and I still do. You have amazed me with the things that you have done for our entire family on your own. From building our house from the ground up before I was born, and rebuilding it again when hurricane Katrina destroyed it. You really are like Superman dad. Not only do you provide us with shelter, but with food as well. I’ve never met anyone that can barbecue better than you.

Not only can you cook good food, but you can catch good food too. For years I have aways wondered why you chose to sit high up in a tree, covered from head to toe in leaves, waiting for a deer to walk out for hours, and sometimes come home empty handed. But now I see why you do it, not only do you enjoy the quiet peacefulness of the woods early in the morning or late at night, but you do it for mom and I to have good healthy food on the table every night. When I got older, you taught me how to hunt like you. From showing me how to aim and shoot a gun, to teaching me how to skin a deer, even though I was grossed out.

When math class go harder, you added another name to your long list of titles, a tutor. Being a carpenter you knew a good bit about geometry and measuring angles, which happens to be my worst. On long nights of what seemed like endless math homework that made no sense, you sat with me and explained it to me in a way I could understand. It seemed like there wasn’t a problem you didn’t know how to solve.

As my teenage years approached, I noticed how curious and anxious you got when I brought up boy’s names. At first I was embarrassed that you had to formally meet all of my homecoming dates, and really any boy that was in my life at the time. But now, I see why you were so concerned and I am proud to introduce you to any boy as my dad. Though some of them may have ran in fear of you, it taught me that they were not the right ones for me.

While I am thanking you for all of the things you do for me, I also want to apologize. I know raising a teenager must be pretty hard, and even harder when that teenager is a free spirited girl, but you have been so patient with me through it all. You understand when I need my space and you know when I need a shoulder to cry on. Though many times you were confused as to why I was crying or why I was mad, you tried your best to understand and you were always there for me.

When the day finally comes when some man asks for your permission to marry me, I hope that you will always know that you were the first man I have ever loved and it will always be that way. I don’t believe any man will ever replace you or love me as unconditionally as you have. I know it will be tough for you to “give me away”, but I won’t be going anywhere. I was you little girl then, and I will be your little girl now.

I know I was a handful at times and I know I still am. I’m sorry for all the gray hairs I may have caused in the past, and for not listening when you told me not to do something. I quickly learned you told me no for a reason, and I warn you about the many more times I will screw up and come running to you for help. But that’s what daughters do right? They make mistakes and when we don’t know where to turn to, we run to our dads who greet us with open arms, ready and willing to do whatever it takes to fix the mess we made, and hope that we learn from them.

Again, thank you dad, for being the best Superman a girl could ask for. I love you with all my heart and I always will.

Love,

Your baby girl