Father's Day means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For some, it's a day of sadness when people remember the fathers who they've lost. For others, it's a day of happiness and thankfulness, giving back to fathers who have taken care of families so dutifully. For others still, it can be a day of bitterness and regret, an entire day to be reminded of a figure you don't have in your life. For me, Father's Day had always been the later. It was a day that I had to force myself through, feigning appreciation and respect for a man who did not deserve it. My father, though my flesh and blood, was not worthy of being a dad. Once he became entirely absent from my life and thoughts, Father's Day became just another day, as irrelevant as every other casual Sunday. For the past two years, though, you've made your way into my family's life, a man who is all too deserving of the love and appreciation that Father's Day represents.

I'll admit, at first, I was completely against the idea of the introduction of you in my life. I had little trust for men, and I wasn't about to put myself out there to go through the emotional situations I had already faced. I was civil, because you'd really done nothing to make me distrust you, but I was cautious and removed.

It didn't take me long to warm up to you, the genuine, thoughtful, and giving person that you are. I was taken by surprise, shocked that someone could care so deeply and be so giving and selfless toward my family. It was an unfamiliar and strange feeling, but I welcomed it as I came to understand and to trust you.

It's a hard concept to grasp, coming to terms with the fact that your biological father can never be thought of as your "dad." Realizing that a father figure is absent from your life is a heartbreaking feeling, but when you came into my life, whether you realize it or not, you put yourself in that position and made yourself the figure that I had always desperately needed in my life. The fact that you want and love my family when the man who was supposed to be tied to us couldn't means more than you can ever possibly imagine. Thank you for being there when you never had to, thank you for sticking around, and thank you for being you. I'll appreciate it forever, and much more than you know.

Thank you, and I love you. Happy Father's Day.