by Katie Gray
Post Credit: Life Teen
Dad,
Happy Father’s Day! I could write the usual “dad’s day” stuff I write in every card, every year, for the last 20+ years. I know what I’ve written and said and colored because you’ve kept everything. I saw them all tucked away in a box in your office a few months ago. You even saved a brick that I painted saying “I Love My Dad” when I was seven years old. A brick?!? Dad, come on! Part of me wants to call you out as a hoarder, but then part of me wants to acknowledge how much I must have meant to you all these years.
So instead of writing the typical, “thanks for all you do!” and “I love you!” I thought I’d try and dig a little deeper this Father’s Day to appreciate the things for which I’ve probably most forgotten to say: Thank You.
Dad, thanks for telling cheesy jokes. Thank you for being joyful. There were plenty of times that life didn’t go as planned or as easy. However, you seemed to trust, smile and have faith that God would take care of everything, and you did it with a joyful spirit. You’ve always had the best smile.
Dad, thanks for filling up my gas tank. No seriously, you were always generous. I remember how many times I asked for money leaving the house to which you often laughed! But now and then I’d get a $5.00 bill when I asked. Thanks for cleaning the snow off my car so I could sleep in late and still drive carefully. And thank you for each time you moved me in and out of a college dorm, apartment, or house in my adult life.
Dad, thanks for loving me when I was hard to love. I know I gave you a hard time, especially when I was most annoyed with you, or fought with my siblings – even when I was 28 years old. Thanks for not grounding me when I took the mirror off mom’s mini-van with a mailbox accident or kicked a soccer ball through the glass windows of the garage.
Dad, thanks for loving my husband, and my daughters – even the one you weren’t here to meet last year. Some of my greatest memories are the way you put them first in your life as if they had been your own.
Dad, thanks for taking me to Church. I know I didn’t always enjoy going, but thanks. Thanks for coming to Mass at the parish where I served as a youth minister. I was always so proud to show off the teenagers, youth program and parish to you and Mom.
Dad, thanks for helping me know the love of my Heavenly Father. Thanks for showing me how to pray by how you put prayer first. Sometimes when my 3-year old says she does not want to pray, I remember how you calmly always invited us into a relationship with Jesus through your modeled behavior.
While there’s plenty more reason to appreciate you, Dad, I hope you know the life you lived was incredible. Your passing last year was crushing to all of us. Because of how you lived your life rooted in God, family, and generosity, I’m hopeful and look forward to seeing you again one day in eternity.
So Dad, Happy Father’s Day!
And Dad, Thank You.
Love,
Katie