Dear Dad,

I just wanted to say thanks. Thanks for being beside my mom throughout her pregnancy and being there to hold me when I was born.

Thanks for being overjoyed by me even though I was your third girl and maybe part of you had secretly wished for a boy. If you did, you never once let it show . . . thanks, dad.

Thanks for walking me around my nursery, singing me songs, and teaching me about Jesus before I could even talk.

Thank you for guiding my small fingers across the piano and helping me fall in love with music.

Thanks for making time for daddy traps and tickle fights with me.

Thanks for coming home to kiss the top of my head and ask about my day even after your own long, tiring one.

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Thanks for reading me Bible stories at bedtime and being willing to listen to my scary dreams in the middle of the night.

Thanks for showing up to recitals and sports events and father-daughter banquets.

Thanks for the cool rags you put around my neck every time I was sick.

Thanks for explaining math facts to me, playing chess with me, and teaching me how to throw a football further than any boy I knew.

Thanks for kissing mom in front of us and for always fighting for your marriage.

Thanks for being understanding and empathetic whenever I needed help or advice.

Thanks for getting help for your own struggles and choosing to be a life-long learner. That taught me more than your words ever could.

Thanks for all your hugs. I know I didn’t always show it, but the security I felt in your fatherly affection kept me from looking elsewhere to fill that void. And I’m so thankful you didn’t let me push that love away.

Thanks for taking time to go on father-daughter dates with me, even when I was less than interested. Thanks for treating me like the lady you were confident I would become.

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Thanks for being the first man to tell me I was pretty, but for always placing the biggest value on character and things of the heart.

Thanks for all the times you patiently taught me perseverance.

Thanks for praying for me and over me, and for teaching me thankfulness for as long as I can remember.

I just wanted to say thanks, and to let you know the microscopic moments mattered.

Thank you for sharing your world and stepping into mine, because it meant the world to me.

Love,

Your grown-up little girl

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