21 Jun A Letter to My Dad on Fathers Day

Dear Dad,

Fathers Day comes each year and with it memories of you. Today I reflect and give thanks once again for your life and for all that you have modeled for me and taught me over the years. This letter could never be exhaustive, but I hope that you feel honored through my words today and that you will know that all these little things you did over the years have not gone unnoticed. Dad, you have helped to make me the woman I am today.

Dad, I remember when I still wore long ruffly nightgowns, you bought me a beautiful jeweled crown and called me “princess.” I wore it with great pride and joy. Dad, you taught me when I was about 15 to mow our lawn and change a tire on the car. You taught me how to ride a bike, drive a boat, a car, and a motorcycle. You even took me up in a small plane and let me take the controls for a few minutes so I would know what it felt like to fly.

Flying was never just a career for you, but a great passion. You are an explorer and adventurer at heart. Thank you for passing that DNA on to me. We were a standby, non-rev family. We knew the excitement of waiting at a gate for our names to be called and getting to take the extra available seats on airplanes time and time again. At times, we ran from gate to gate when we didn’t make a flight and there was another one “pushing back in 30” that we might just make it on. Jaret (my brother) and I created makeshift forts in our younger years with the blankets and pillows aboard the planes, snacking on honey roasted peanuts and ginger ale.

Thank you for taking us on so many adventures and expanding our horizons. Our adventures weren’t limited to sky travel. Some of the best memories of my childhood were our family camping trips to Jackson Hole, Tony Grove, and other gorgeous outdoor destinations in Utah and Wyoming. You rented a pop-up camper and off we went. In the days before DVD players in cars, we listened to music, made up songs and stories, and played games. You are a great storyteller and would keep Jaret and I captivated with elaborate stories that you would make up on the spot, often leaving us begging you to “Tell it again, Dad!”

Dad, you are disciplined, deliberate, and precise in so much of what you do. I remember you running 23 minutes a day regularly while I was growing up. You taught me to love running, too. As a new runner, you challenged me to race you to Little River Park and back with the promise that when I could beat you you’d give me $100. I worked hard until the day when I finally beat you and you happily wrote me my winning check. You constructed an amazing, one of a kind rope swing for Jaret and me that we did tricks on from elementary school to college. Seeing the joy we got from it, you built one for my kids as well. Thank you for building a tree house for us as kids and helping Joel build a tree house for our kids, too.

You taught me that there are no strangers, but only friends we haven’t met. I have watched you year after year strike up conversations with people in restaurants, parks, airports, hotels, and pretty much anywhere you go. I learned from you to ask good questions and seek to be interested rather than interesting. In fact, you met one of your good friends in adulthood at a Wendy’s!

Thank you for never asking me to do something you won’t do yourself. Thank you for showing me that no task is too small or mundane or beneath you, but in all labor there is profit. You taught me to make my bed every morning (which I still do to this day) and then walked me into your room to show me that you did the same for yourself. Thank you for teaching me to take joy in hard work and enjoy play and rest as well.

I notice how you labor over letters and emails, giving great attention to the words you choose and the message you desire to communicate. Your thoughtfulness shines through. Thank you for supporting my dreams at every season of my life and being one of my greatest cheerleaders and supporters. Thank you for being generous and hospitable again and again with your time, talents, and resources. Most importantly, Dad, thank you for loving Jesus and teaching me to love Jesus, too. Thank you for exhibiting humility and always being willing to admit when you are wrong. Thank you for asking for forgiveness and forgiving me. Thank you, even in your golden years, for still desiring to learn and grow and let God move in your heart and life. Thank you for loving me and my family and continuing to live a life of intentionality and love.

I love you and honor you today for the father you were to me as a child and the father you are to me as an adult. I look forward to many more adventures to come!

Gratefully,

Laura