A Love Letter to My Daddy

In honor of my dad's 55th birthday today: a thank you letter.

Dear Daddy--

Thank you for being wrapped around my finger from the very beginning.

Thank you for learning to braid, just so you could braid my hair when I got out of the bath each night.

Thank you for being the first man I ever loved.

Thank you for telling me to listen to my mother.

Thank you for spanking the boys when they were mean to me.

Thank you for letting me lay in your lap when we were watching that horribly scary episode of the Hogan Family with the zombies.

Thank you for letting me sit in your lap long after I was too big to.

Thank you for giving me your pillow when I'd crawl in bed with you and Mom as little girl.

Thank you for giving me that pillow years later. (I still have it, and nothing feels better than sleeping on that pillow.)

Thank you for going swimming with us in the summers.

Thank you for taking us to Vastwood, even though you hated going.

Thank you for teaching me that can't is not in my vocabulary. That has rung through my head many times during successful moments in my life.

Thank you for always having gums when we asked.

Thank you for being the cool dad who 'got it,' when no one else's daddies did.

Thank you for coming home to us each night. I can remember the excitement I felt when I'd see your truck start backing into the driveway.

Thank you for giving me a love of haunted houses, bologna, and cake soup.

Thanks for all those hot ham and cheeses and cinnamon rolls.

Thank you for almost always giving me money to go to dinner with my friends. Sorry for never bringing you the change.

Thank you for that time we were walking through Kroger and your shoes were purposefully untied. I was mortified, and you told me to quit worrying about what other people thought.

Thank you for teaching me to drive.

Thank you for giving me drinks of your coke and bites of your food, even though it made you so mad that I just wouldn't get my own.

Thank you for making me learn every artist to every 70's and 80's song 93.9 played.

Thank you for letting me hide my face in your shoulder during that wax museum tour that was terrifying.

Thank you for buying me that $350 prom dress. It really was beautiful.

Thank you for all the speeding tickets you paid for. Even when you didn't know that's what the money was for.

Thank you for not yelling when you talk. (And yes, I cracked myself up with that one.)

Thank you for not only telling me but always making me feel beautiful.

Thank you for moving me in and out of almost every place I've ever lived.

Thank you for that time you yelled at me to go back to Lexington before dark.

Thank you for that time you drove two and half hours to stand with me while they pulled my car out of a ditch...after dark.

Thank you for telling me to get my ass back to school that night.

Thank you for that summer where it felt like just you and me against the world. No matter how bad things were, we could look forward to our dinners together and late night movies we'd watch on my laptop since we didn't yet have a DVD player.

Thank you for being silly and making me laugh.

Thank you for reading me "Twas the night before Christmas" every Christmas eve for 29 years.

Thank you for not smacking me when I correct your grammar or your mispronounciation of words likes chimney (chimley), Pittsburg (Picksburg), hogwash (hock wash), bathing suit (babin'  suit), and wash rag (warsh rag).

Thank you for forgiving me.

Thank you for accepting my forgiveness.

Thank you for the daddy you are to Robert, Ryan, and river. They have no idea how blessed they are to have your guidance.

Thank you for calling us at 3am on Christmas morning the way your dad did to you.

Thank you for making it hard for every man I've ever dated to live up to the example you've set.

Thank you for always being you, even when it pisses everybody off.

Thank you for responding "Otay" to my texts. That makes me smile every time.

Thank you for yelling at me to call you instead of text. Sometimes it is better just to hear each other's voice.

Thank you for having reasons that are valid to you.

Thank you for being a really great gift-giver.

Thank you for not being too proud.

Thank you for someday walking me down the aisle.

Thank you for the amazing Pappaw you'll be to my kids someday.

Thank you for someday telling my grown children to listen to their mother.

Thank you for always being there when I have needed you.

Thank you for giving me not two, but five brothers. Some day when I need someone, and you can't be there, one of them will be.

Thank you for being endlessly supportive of me.

Thank you for showing me what unconditional love is.

Thank you for being the absolute best daddy a little girl could ever ask for.

I love you,

Your Forever Daddy's Girl