Dad,

I have been living on this Earth for 17 years. 17 years of falling down, and having you pick me back up. 17 years of riding bikes together. 17 years of watching movies together and then informally having a heated debate about whether that movie exceeded our expectations or flopped on the ground like a dead fish. 17 years of debating across the dinner table. And 17 years of love and support.

Throughout these past 17 years, that have felt like they have flown by I might add, you have stood by me. I remember one time when I was playing softball for one of the first times in my life. I was thrown out and I didn’t really know how to handle it. So when I came back to the dugout you were sitting on your bucket, chewing your seeds, doing your coaching duties, so I went and sat on the bench. I had so many emotions running through my 10 year old mind; I had no idea what emotion to show on my face. I remember feeling mad and empty. Then you came over to me, stood over me and said, “Maggie, look at me.” I looked at you, and you said that we would come to the fields every weekend and practice for however long I could go until I could hit that ball to the fence. And that is what we did. We went to the fields every weekend that summer and practiced until I was the best I could be. You were always there. You have never left. You have stood by my side through the thick and the thin, through every bad decision I have made, and through everything I have done as my own person.

You also have always made it very adamant to me that I am my own person. You have always said that I am old enough to make my own decisions. But even in saying the I am my own person, you have never left me to be my own person. Your hand has always been there to guide me through everything that I have done, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for that.

I never classified myself as a horrible child, or a troubled kid, or someone that caused you and my mom any trouble. But for some reason, I always had it in my head that when I was in a particular amount of trouble, I was to be yelled at, but that was never the case; you always told me that it was only a conversation. That’s all it ever was. And that is all it ever will be, and I thank you for teaching me that you are never getting yelled at, and that it’s just a conversation.

Not only did you teach me that I was not getting yelled at, you taught me how to write. You would sit on your laptop for hours every night and I would sit at the table right next to you, doing my 5th grade homework, and I would marvel at how swiftly your fingers would fly over the keyboard. Then I would stand up, walk over and try to peak my way over your shoulder to see what you were writing for work. Then I would try to copy what you were doing. I would go find my laptop, or one that worked, and I would type my heart out. Sure, all of the words would be spelt wrong, or have some type of error, but I was trying to be just like you. You have read all of my papers, edited all of my essays, and helped me with the every one of my projects I have turned in.

And most of all, I would like to thank you from the lowest furthermost bottom of my heart for showing me how to stay with someone. I’m not sure if I worded that 100% correctly, but I am going to try to explain it. I want to thank you for showing me how to stick with something and some people, meaning my family. You have shown me that family is number one compared to anything else. You have shown me that family is there when no one else is. You have shown me that when I think that I am alone in the world and when I feel like I cannot stop, my family is there to help me stop. Throughout these past months, we have gone through some hard things as a family, but we have learned that we are a team. You always say we are a lot alike, and I would have to agree. You are one of my best friends. And we are a family, most of all.

So Dad, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for always being there for me, for always being there to talk, and for always being ready to watch a movie at any time of the day.

Thank you, for always being you.

Love, Maggs