to my dad

Most of the people who will read this know about my relationship with my dad. We have had our ups and downs and now that I am an adult, we have more ups than downs. Thank the good Lord in Heaven for that! Normally, every year I get my dad a funny card and we laugh and its good. This year, I went a little more sentimental.


Through the years (I realize this is starting to sound like a song) my dad and I have been through a lot. We have been through graduations together, proms, weddings, new churches, practical jokes, family secrets (even some I would rather not know about), births and even a few deaths. In all of these things, I have learned valuable lessons from my dad. I have learned that boys will be boys and the heart does not literally break. That God has bigger plans that I just can't see yet. That making the decision to marry the man that I did was a good decision. That having children will be the biggest life change and what I did as a kid will come back TEN FOLD. That new beginnings are not always a bad thing. And that sometimes, when we lose someone we love, we crawl into the arms of our heavenly father and find peace and solace there. I have also learned to forgive and more so, to ask for forgiveness.


There was a time in my life when I finally saw my dad as a man and not just a preacher. A time when my dad and I became real with each other. It's a time that I will never forget b/c during that time, it shaped me into who I am today. It gave me the compassion that I have for people. It gave me the faith that I have in God. And now, as a wife, mother, daughter, and friend, it gave me the perspective that I have on life and why we were put here on earth in the first place.


Dad, I am sorry for all the craziness I put you through during those lessons I was learning but God gave me a great dad and I can't imagine having anyone else teach me, love me, or send me a letter from the county attorney b/c you thought it was funny! (and yes, that was funny) As I said in your fathers day card, thank you for being a big part of who I am today. And just so you know, every time we hug, it always makes me feel like I am a little girl again, running to sit in your lap and watch tv with you.


I love you dad! Happy Father's Day.