My step-dad is not related to me by blood. We don’t look alike. He wasn’t there the day that I was born, or when I learned to ride a bike. But he was the one who taught me how to drive a car. He was there when I was asked to prom, and he was the one who celebrated my first college acceptance letter with me… and every acceptance after that, for that matter. When I got into my first major car accident, my step-dad is the one who rushed to the scene to make sure I was okay, and when I told him I had a small cut on my knee, he worried about it… even though it was easily fixed with a band-aid.

You have been there for my sister and I since she was five and I was eight. It was weird to accept a new person into our lives at first, but you made our mother the happiest we had ever seen her. I was too young to realize it at the time, but you held our little family together when it was so close to collapsing. You never even give a second thought to the fact that you don’t have to do all of the things you go out of your way to do for my sister and me. You do it out of the pure goodness of your heart. And sometimes, my sister and I might take that for granted because we have never known things to be any other way.

I do not tell you often enough how thankful I am that you walked into our lives. I am older now, and I know how hard it has been to deal with me growing up. My mother had to deal with me, she had no choice. But you did have the choice, and you never walked out. And even though we still argue and slam doors at each other sometimes, I truly do not know what I would do without you. You make an incredible dad. You are strong, understanding, and protective- sometimes a little too overprotective- but how lucky I am to have someone who cares about me that much. There are times where I truly do not understand why you stick around. You chose to live in a house with three very emotional and sensitive women. We sure give you a run for your money, but at the end of the day, you share your M&M’s and cupcakes with us anyway. That's how we know you really care.

No, it's not your birthday, or Father's Day, or any special occasion, really. But you deserve a thank you. Both for the things you have done for my sister and I the past 10 years, and for the things you will do in the future. It's only a matter of time before I am calling you up to fill up my tire with more air, or help me with something else for my car. And you will. You don’t have to. But you will. And I appreciate that more than words can even say.

So, thank you. Thank you for your stories. Thank you for your jokes. Thank you for the laughs. Thank you for showing me what true love is every time you look at my mother. Thank you for showing me how a man should treat a woman. Thank you for being a great role model. Thank you for being my mothers rock. Thank you for supporting my sister and me in all the ways you do, even though you never had to. Thank you for choosing to love my sister and me unconditionally, even though you didn’t have to. Thank your for helping our mother raise us, even though you didn't have to.

“Anyone can be a father, but it takes a special kind of person to be a dad.” -Unknown

Love you!

-Your (Step) Daughter