Dear Dad,

Ever since I was little, we were always close. From taking me out for “Princess Night” when I was little, to asking me to “tell you all about myself,” to joining me and my best friends in high school eating pizza and sushi in the kitchen and offering to “gossip about boys,” you’ve always made a huge effort to know what was going on in my life. I didn’t realize how lucky I was that you did this until my friends commented that their dads were never that talkative or enthusiastic. To them, and to me, you’ll always be the “cool dad.”

But beyond just being cool, you’ve taught me a lot of things too. You’ve taught me, by example, not just how to listen, but the importance of listening, and how remembering what someone said a few weeks ago can help you make their day a lot better now. Plus, listening to people shows them that you really care about them.

You’ve also taught me how to loosen up a little and take a break from things every once in a while (or at least you’ve tried to teach me, but it’s a hard lesson to learn). You’ve shown me that putting in the time and effort can help you advance in work and life, but that every once in a while you need to take a break and escape, either to visit a friend or just chill out at home. If you spend every minute of every day working too hard, you exhaust yourself. It’s important to find a balance, although that balance may change with different circumstances.

If I had a dollar for every time you’ve yelled, “Don’t ever lose your sense of humor!” I’d be a billionaire. You’ve really shown me how to laugh at myself and stop taking everything so seriously all the time. And even though I may roll my eyes at you when you do it, it never fails to make me smile. You find and point out the humor in every situation, and help everyone you know take themselves a little less seriously.

Another quote you've shared with me a lot is: "Eff 'em if they can't take a joke." You understand what it's like to take things on and blame yourself for any friendship that ended, and you've learned that it's not always your fault, sometimes the other person is just kind of a jerk and you're better off without them. Thank you for passing this lesson on to me, and cheering me up when I'm freaking out about not being a good enough friend or person.

Thank you for always being there for me when I’m sad, stressed, or annoyed. Since I moved three hours away, I've missed watching dumb movies and weird TV shows and eating ice cream with you at night after a long day. Even though we have Facetime and everything to keep in touch, it’s still not quite the same. I miss you and I love you, and I hope you have the amazing birthday that you deserve!

Love,

Your Daughter